Feb. 14 NWC Men’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

Puget Sound 97, at Whitworth 84

Spokane, Wash. -- The University of Puget Sound tightened the defense to outscore Whitworth College 56-37 in the second half to spark the visiting Loggers to a 97-84 win over the Pirates in a key Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night.

Puget Sound, ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 19-2 overall and 11-1 in the NWC. The Loggers won at Whitworth for the first time since they joined the Northwest Conference in 1997. UPS also took a two-game lead in the conference standings after Willamette's loss at L&C.

Whitworth lost a six-game winning streak and fell to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in the NWC.

After Whitworth took a 47-41 halftime lead by shooting 59% in the first half (19/32), the Loggers' defense took over. They held Whitworth to 43% shooting (15/35) in the second half and forced 11 Pirate turnovers.

Chase Curtiss sparked the second half rally with four consecutive three-pointers, turning a 59-56 Whitworth lead into a 68-59 Logger advantage. After Matt Glynn sank a three-pointer to extend the lead to 85-73, UPS never led by less than 10 points the rest of the way.

Curtiss made 10 of 17 three-pointers to finish with 34 points to lead UPS. Glynn added 26 points. Josh Walker made 10 of 11 free throws to add 15 points and Chris O'Donnell led the Loggers with six rebounds.

Bryan Depew led Whitworth with 24 points, while Scott Bierlink added 22 points and eight rebounds.

Puget Sound can clinch the NWC title with a pair of wins when they host Willamette and L&C next weekend. Whitworth will travel to Oregon to take on Pacific and Linfield.

At Lewis & Clark 61, Willamette 58

Portland, Ore. -- Danny Winchester released a three-pointer as time expired to win the game for the Lewis & Clark College Saturday night 61-58. The Pioneers led by 17 at the half, but saw their lead dwindle away to four in the latter portion of the second half.

Willamette tied the game with 28 seconds remaining in the game, completing their comeback. Winchester broke free of the Bearcat defense and with one second left on the clock, took an offbalance quick-shot from beyond the arc and hit the buzzer-beating game winner.

John Mietus had a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds, his 15th double-double of the season. He was 5-of-10 from beynd the arc. Ryan Wells had 13 points, including 4 three-pointers. Winchester finished the night with 11, three treys, including the game winner.

For Willamette, Harold Sublett Jr led the Bearcats with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Brennan Garrelts had 14 points and 6 boards. David Force had ten points and seven assists. The Bearcats were 2-of-20 from long distance (10%).

With the win, the Pioneers improve to 6-5 in conference play. Willamette, who came into the game in second place in conference, falls to 9-3.

At Pacific 68, George Fox 62

Forest Grove, Ore. – Pacific’s love-hate relationship with its home court came to an end Saturday night as the Boxers used a solid second half to beat George Fox, 68-62, and snap their four-game Northwest Conference home losing streak Saturday night at the Pacific Athletic Center.

Pacific saw five players score double figures, led by Branden Kawazoe's 18 points, to improve to 8-11 overall, 5-6 NWC.  Kawazoe scored 15 of his 18 in the first half, while his teammates pulled yeoman's duty in the second.  Rahim Tufts finished with 11 while Erin Gram, B.J. Anderson and Nick Kelsey each had 10.   Ben Melvin finished with 16 points for the Bruins as they dropped to 6-16, 2-11 NWC.

George Fox held a four-point advantage late in the first half, using Aaron Schmick's three-pointer to go up 27-23.  The Boxers tied it up 28-28 on Tufts' jumper, then used two long jumpers by Kawazoe in the last 1:30 to hold onto a 33-30 lead at the break.

The Boxers held onto the slim advantage until Mevlin's jumper with 10:31 left gave the Bruins a 43-41 lead.  It was the least one they would have as Gram's first three-pointer of the half put Pacific back up one and started an 8-0 run for a 49-43 edge with 8:15 left. 

The Bruins cut the lead to one twice in the final four minutes, but Kelsey's three-pointer with 1:09 left all but sealed the deal.  Anderson put an exclamation point on the night with a fastbreak dunk with 24 seconds left that got the crowd off of its feet.

Pacific Lutheran 77, at Whitman 71

Walla Walla, Wash. -- Sophomore Greg Ricker scored 21 points, but the Whitman men's basketball team fell to Pacific Lutheran 77-71 Saturday evening in Walla Walla, Wash. The Missionaries dropped their eighth straight, and are 6-15, 2-10. The Lutes avenged a loss earlier this season to the Missionaries, and are 5-16, 2-10.

Ricker scored 16 in the second half, and knocked down six of 12 from the floor while converting all seven of his free-throw opportunities during the game. Casey Nelson also scored in double figures, with 12, and grabbed nine rebounds. Erik Kofler played some solid minutes off the bench, and finished with five points and seven rebounds.

Four players scored in double figures for the Lutes, led by Sudon DeSuze with 16. Michael Jacobs had a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Rounding out the four were Jonathan Anderson with 11 points and Drew Cardall with 10. Jake Lipscomb had six points while taking in 10 rebounds.

The teams traded baskets early on, and the score was tied 11-11 with 14 minutes to play in the half. The Lutes scored the next four, and extended their lead to 24-17 with 8:28 left. The Missionaries fell behind by 10 at the 3:37 mark, and went into the half down 36-27. Pacific Lutheran opened up the second half on a 5-0 run before Greg Caldwell knocked down a trey to make it 41-30. Caldwell sparked a 12-2 run as Whitman pulled within four. Pacific Lutheran responded with an 8-0 run of its own, taking a 51-39 lead with just under 12 minutes left. With 5:11 remaining, Whitman faced its largest deficit, at 15, but pulled within five in the final minute before losing, 77-71.

Whitman, the conference leader in shooting percentage, struggled against the Lutes as it hit just 31.7 percent from the floor. In a game that saw 51 fouls called, the Missionaries hit 24 of 32 from the charity stripe, while the Lutes converted on 20 of 36.

Whitman plays two conference games on the road next weekend, taking on Linfield on Friday and Pacific on Saturday. Pacific Lutheran returns home to play Willamette and Lewis & Clark.