IRVINE, Calif. — Once top-seed Pacific took the lead, they kept it in the second semifinal of the 2017 Golden Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Championships. They held fourth-seed Pepperdine at arms length for the game and earned a 12-9 win at Anteater Aquatics Center on Saturday.

BOX SCORE | GCC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

The fifth-ranked Tigers (18-5) advance to their second straight GCC Championships title game thanks to four goals each from Luke Pavillard (SO/Perth, Australia) and Kale Ai (SR/Honolulu, HI). They will face host and seventh-ranked UC Irvine in the 2017 Championship Game at 5 pm.

Chris Dilworth (JR/Thousand Oaks, CA) led Pepperdine (18-13) with five goals. The Waves will take on Long Beach State in the third place game at 3 pm.

The Waves scored first to take an early 1-0 led on a Sean Thomas (JR/Covina, CA) goal. The Tigers would then score four straight to take a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter. The Tigers would keep the Waves at arms length the rest of the way.

Pepperdine managed to cut the lead to one, 6-5, on a Dillworth goal with two minutes to play. They would get no closer as they got the lead to a pair of goals five different times only to see Pacific answer.