Feb. 20 NWC Men’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

At Puget Sound 99, Willamette 71

Tacoma, Wash. – Thirrteenth-ranked Puget Sound avenged its only NWC defeat of the season tonight, topping the visiting Bearcats of Willamette 99-71 on Parents' Night at Memorial Fieldhouse.  The win puts the Loggers in firm control of the race for the NWC title. The victory also gives the Loggers (20-2) their first twenty-win season since 1984-85.

Matt Glynn was again the difference maker.  The NWC Player of Year candidate led all scorers with 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting in 26 minutes.  Glynn added two assists and four rebounds to his line for the night.

Glynn led the Loggers in a dominating first-half that turned a game many thought would be tight into an early route.  Puget Sound jumped all over the cold shooting Bearcats, running out to a 14-4 lead just over four minutes into a game the never saw the Loggers trail.  The game settled into a flow with both teams trading baskets until the Loggers exploded with just over seven minutes remaining in the half and the score 33-19.  An 18-2 run over the next six minutes saw the Loggers lead balloon to 30 with seconds left in the half.  A Bearcat lay-up just before the half stopped the run, but the game was over at the break, with Puget Sound up 51-23.

Glynn had 20 at the half to lead the Loggers.  Puget Sound shot 55.9% in the first-half, as their pressing defense harassed the Bearcats into just 8 of 33 (25.8%) shooting. At the break Willamette was only 1 of 13 from behind the arch, while Puget Sound was 6 of 13.

The second-half saw the led top out at 41, as Puget Sound never let the Bearcats get comfortable in an offensive set.  The Loggers forced 26 turnovers and out rebound the Bearcats 40-32 on the night.

Willamette (14-8, 9-4) was led in scoring by Ryan Ralfs.  Ralfs had 24 points and four rebounds.  Guard Josh Erickson had 8 assists and David Force collected six rebounds.  Both led their team in the respective categories.

Senior Mario Mendoza had a terrific night, hitting 5 of 7 three-pointers to contribute 17 points.  Chris O'Donnell went 6 of 7 from the floor on his way to 12 points.  Aubrey Shelton grabbed a team high seven rebounds and finished with 8 points, leaving him ten shy of the 1000 point mark for his career.

At Linfield 89, Whitman 77

McMinnville, Ore. -- A 20-4 surge early in the second half carried Linfield to an 89-77 Northwest Conference win over Whitman Friday night. The double-digit victory inside cozy Ted Wilson Gym was the Wildcats' fourth straight triumph, and kept Linfield in contention for a top-three finish in the conference. The Wildcats improved to 9-3 in league play, 14-7 overall.

Towering center Nick Fusare scored a season-high 22 points, adding five rebounds and three assists for Linfield. John Broussard chipped in with 18 points and four boards.

Four Missionaries reached double figures in scoring, led by the 15 points of Greg Caldwell. Cale Will had 14 points and four assists. Warner contributed 11 points and Jacob Pounds had 10 for Whitman.

The first half was a nip-and-tuck affair. A steal by Joe Neill and subsequent layup by John Broussard helped the Wildcats open up a seven-point advantage with 8:52 left in the half. The Missionaires fought back, knotting the game at 31 on Kyle Davit's layup with 4:10 on the clock. Whitman twice took momentary leads at 33-31 and 34-33, but a Nick Fusare free throw and Casey Kushiyama’s three-point basket gave the hosts a 37-36 lead at the break. Using their decided height advantage, the Wildcats controlled the glass in the first half, outrebounding Whitman 21-13.

The 'Cats came out smoking to start the second half, as leading scorer Blake Shelton suddenly found his shooting touch for 12 points after a scoreless first half. Linfield led by as many as 16 points with 7:55 left, following Broussard's steal that lead to a layup by Chris Lewis. The Missionaries cut the margin to 75-66 on Ian Warner's three-pointer with 4:39 left, but could draw no closer.

The Wildcats held a 45-28 advantage in rebounding, but the Missionaries kept it close with 15 three-point baskets, including four by Will.

Whitworth 86, at Pacific 77

Forest Grove, Ore. – Bryan Depew's 40-point night propelled a stellar shooting night by Whitworth as the visiting Pirates powered by Pacific 86-77 in Northwest Conference Men's Basketball action Friday night at the Pacific Athletic Center.

Depew shot 14 of 19 from the field, including 2 of 2 from three-point range, and hit 10 of 11 free throws as the Pirates (16-6, 8-4 NWC) outshot the Boxers 57 percent to 48 percent, and 56 percent to 42 percent from three-point range, in the victory.

The Boxers (9-12, 5-7 NWC) were led by a season-high 23-points from Branden Kawazoe, who hit 7 of 11 from the field.  Nick Kelsey scored 15, B.J. Anderson hit for 13 points and eight rebounds and Erin Gram scored 10 to go along with seven assists.

Jon Young scored 15 off the bench for Whitworth, all on three-pointers.  John Gebbers finished with 10.

Pacific took their biggest lead of the game with 7:19 left in the first half when Kawazoe converted a three-point play for a 27-21 lead.  The Pirates countered with a string of three-pointers by Young that fueled a 22-9 run to give Whitworth a 43-35 lead at the break.

Scott Bierlink's three early in the second half opened up a nine-point Pirate lead, but the Boxers slowly chipped away at the lead and never let Whitworth out of range.  Kawazoe's trey with 6:33 left tied the game at 65-65.  Whitworth countered with a three by Young, but Kawazoe responded with another trey to tie it at 70-70.

Traded free throws knotted things at 72-72 with 3:43 left, but from there it was Depew's show as he scored eight of Whitworth's last 14 points and keyed a 14-5 run that closed the contest.

Pacific returns to the home floor Saturday night with an 8:00 p.m. match-up with Whitman.  Whitworth travels south to face Linfield.

At Pacific Lutheran 74, Lewis & Clark 68

Tacoma, Wash. -- The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team won its second straight game tonight, 74-68 over Lewis & Clark College in a Northwest Conference game at Olson Auditorium.

The Lutes improved to 6-16 overall, 3-10 in NWC games.  Lewis & Clark is now 13-9 on the season, 6-7 in the conference.

Trailing 17-12 with 13:05 left in the first half, the Lutes scored 15 of the next 20 points and led 27-22 with 5:34 remaining.  The Pioneers cut the margin to two, 29-27, with 2:05 left, but PLU answered with Hazen Hyland's three-pointer and two free throws from Jason Heutink for a 34-27 lead.  The Lutes led 34-29 at halftime.

PLU twice held leads of 11 points in the second half, the last with 13:13 remaining.  Lewis & Clark trimmed the difference to one point, 53-52, with 8:02 left.  Heutink's jumper and a free throw by Sudon DeSuze pushed the lead back to four and the Lutes eventually built the lead back to nine points, 68-59, with 1:14 left. The Pioneers could get no closer than the final six point margin after that.

Hyland led PLU with 13 points, with DeSuze scoring 11 and Kurt Oliver 10.  Jake Lipscomb led the team with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

John Mietus scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Lewis & Clark.  Ryan Wells scored 14 points and Danny Winchester had 11.

PLU hosts Willamette and Lewis & Clark is at Puget Sound on Saturday in Northwest Conference action.