Jan. 25 NWC Men’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

At Lewis & Clark 78, Whitworth 76 (ot)

Portland, Ore. –The Lewis & Clark men are getting pretty good at this overtime stuff.

For the second night in a row, the Pioneers (10-7, 5-3 NWC) needed extra minutes to get past an NWC opponent, and for the second time they succeeded. Saturday, the Whitworth Pirates (15-2, 6-2 NWC) - ranked No. 15 in the nation - were the victims of overtime, falling 78-76.

Down three with 16 seconds left in the second half; Lewis & Clark junior Josh Green missed the first end of a one and one free throw situation. Senior teammates Kristofer Speier grabbed the rebound and dished to Danny Winchester who nailed a wide open three point attempt with 2.6 seconds left on the clock. The Pirates took a desperation shot that just missed and the game was sent into OT tied at 62.

Like the night before - when the Pios beat Whitman 102-93 in double overtime- the L&C big men took over. Senior Colin Oriard scored the first four points of the extra period, and Speier contributed the next eight of the Pioneers points. Whitworth Paul Hafford answered Oriad's first four points with a tip in to keep the Pirates close. Bryan Depew added the following four WC points as the Pirates kept the game within increments of two and six.

As the clock dwindled, Whitworth fouled, but the Pioneers were 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds. The door shut when Whitworth coach Jim Hayford was called for a technical foul for arguing about the starting of the game clock on a Pirate possession. Winchester hitting the ensuing free throws to give L&C a six point lead. Scott Bierlink and Chase Williams hit valiant threes in the closing moments, but Whitworth couldn't close the gap.

Whitworth started the game quickly, taking a nine point lead seven minutes into the game thanks to the play of Kyle Jensen, who had 11 first half points. The Pioneers fought back into the game with the help of multiple contributors and poor shooting from Whitworth. The Pioneers took their first lead since the early moments of the half with one minute left on the clock. Neither team scored the rest of the way and L&C held a 32-31 advantage at the half.

The Pirates regained the lead on the second shot of the second half. The game remained close throughout, with the Pirates maintaining a short lead. Depew, the league's leading scorer, carried his team in the second half, scoring nine of the final 11 points in regulation. He led his team in scoring with 26 points and eight boards. Bierlink and Williams each had 13 points, and Jensen finished with 17.

Oriard turned in another stellar performance scoring 23 points and grabbing a team high 14 rebounds. Speier finished with 26 points and Winchester had 15.

At Puget Sound 82, Linfield 80

Tacoma, Wash. -- The Puget Sound Loggers put on an inspired show in the second-half to earn an 82-80 Northwest Conference victory over the visiting Wildcats of Linfield College Saturday night at Memorial Fieldhouse. The Loggers shot 48% from the floor in the second half to erase an eight point halftime deficit.

With 13:25 remaining the Loggers took their first lead of the second-half at 58-57. The teams would have nine lead changes and four ties in the final 13 minutes. At the 4:08 mark the Loggers broke a 75-75 tie with a Paul Williams three ball the Wildcats Cornell Williams answered to pull Linfield to within one point at 78-77 but Logger Jermaine Perrien hit with 1:57 left to increase the Puget Sound lead to 80-77.With 1:25 to go the Wildcats OJ Gulley was fouled and connected on one free throw to pull get the Wildcats to within two at 80-78. Chase Curtiss was fouled and hit both free throws with just :59 seconds remaining for a four point Logger advantage. Travis Jones was fouled for the Wildcats and hit both in the double bonus with just :47 seconds left. The Loggers took a timeout on their next possession with just :9 seconds left on the shock clock and 21 seconds remaining in the game. A Perrien shot fell short the Wildcats got the ball with and Gulley was called for the travel with just 5 ticks left on the clock. A quick Linfield foul and a missed free throw by the Loggers gave the Wildcats a final desperation shot that Matt Larson launched just inside half-court but it did not go.

The Loggers got 24 points from freshman Chase Curtiss, 16 from Zach McVey and 10 from Paul Williams shooting 44% for the game form the floor and 40% from three point range (11-27). The Wildcats wre led by Matt Larson with 19 points while Nick Fusare and Spencer Crossland added 16 and 14 respectively.

Puget Sound improves to 4-4 in league play and 9-8 overall while the Wildcats slip to 11-6 overall and 4-4 in Northwest Conference play. The victory was the 7th consecutive home win for the Loggers this season.

At Pacific Lutheran 57, Willamette 54

Tacoma, Wash. – No report