BOUNCING BACK
After a solid home win over Whitman, the Loggers tasted defeat in NWC play for the first time this season, falling to a tough Whitworth team on Saturday. With the loss already in the rear-view mirror, the Loggers head down to Oregon this weekend for a pair of games against Lewis & Clark and Willamette.
The Loggers vs. Whitman
Junior Jason Foster (Tacoma, Wash./Henry Foss) exploded for 29 points and 13 rebounds as the seventh-ranked Puget Sound Loggers made easy work of the Whitman Missionaries, 106-86, in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
The Loggers (12-1, 5-0 NWC) were on-fire from the very beginning, opening the game with a 14-0 run to put the Missionaries (2-9, 0-5 NWC) down early. Whitman eventually got on the scoreboard but the Loggers fast-paced offense and tough defense continued to cause problems as UPS took a 55-33 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, Whitman kept pace with the Loggers but were never able to get any closer than 14 points as the Loggers picked up the big win, 106-86. The Loggers connected on 24-of-33 opportunities from the charity stripe as they stayed perfect in NWC play.
Foster led all scorers with 29 points and 13 boards. Robert Krauel (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) continued his solid play off the bench, chalking up 17 points while reserve guard Steffond Brown (Seattle, Wash./Lower Columbia CC) added 11 points in the win. The Loggers out rebounded the Missionaries, 50-30.
Whitman was led by 21 points from Chris Faidley and 18 more from Brendan Ziegler. Jordan Wheeler added 15 points in the loss while Garth Brandal finished with 10. Whitman was 50.0% from the field, connecting on 31-of-62 shots.
The Loggers vs. Whitworth
For the first time this season, a Northwest Conference foe got the better of the seventh-ranked Puget Sound Loggers as the Whitworth Pirates picked up the 83-78 victory over the host-Loggers in a NWC men's basketball game on Saturday evening at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
The Pirates (11-3, 5-1 NWC) came out firing, taking a lead early in the first half and not allowing the Loggers (12-2, 5-1 NWC) to pull ahead. Both teams shot well in the first half as Whitworth connected on 59.3% of their shots from the field while Puget Sound made 51.9% of its first-half attempts.
In the second half, the Loggers fought back, taking a two-point lead on a jumper by Robert Krauel (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) with 6:39 remaining. The Pirates earned back the lead on a Ryan Symes jumper with 3:40 remaining and the Loggers couldn't find a way to recover as the Bucs took the 83-78 victory.
The Loggers were led by 17 points from junior Jason Foster (Tacoma, Wash./Henry Foss). Krauel and Taylor Marsh (Lynnwood, Wash./Meadowdale) each added 12 points while Krauel added seven boards. The Loggers forced just 10 turnovers on the game, a season-low.
The Pirates were led by 24 points from Ryan Symes. Tim Sellereit added 17 off the bench while Colin Willemsen collected the double-double, scoring 13 points and bringing down 11 rebounds. David Riley scored 12 in 34 minutes while Calvin Jurich scored 10 to conclude the Pirates in double-digit scoring.
Statistically Speaking
The Loggers continue to lead the NWC in scoring offense (97.3 ppg), field goal percentage (.509), three-point field goal percentage (.411), steals (13.21 spg), turnover margin (+7.71), and attendance (1070).
Individually, Austin Boyce leads the NWC in field goal percentage (.616) and teammate Robert Krauel is third (.600). Antwan Williams is tops in assists (6.64) and steals (2.79). Fellow Loggers Krauel and Taylor Marsh are tied for second for steals at 1.79 per game.
Nationally, the Loggers offense is ranked third in the country while the scoring margin of +15.8 is fifth in the country. The Loggers are eighth in steals per game, 10th in field goal percentage, and 13th in three-point field goal percentage. Williams is eighth nationally in assists per game and 26th in steals per game.
Among The Nation's Best
As expected, the Loggers fell a few spots in the D3hoops.com Top 25, settling in the 11th spot after a week at number seven.
Chasing 1,000
The Loggers have three players who could score their 1,000th point the maroon and white this season, including a pair of juniors. Senior Taylor Marsh has scored 819 points for the Loggers and would have to average 18.1 ppg the rest of the way to reach 1,000 points by the end of the season.
Junior guard Antwan Williams has 861 points in 67 games and would have to average 13.9 ppg the rest of the way to reach 1,000 by the end of the year. Also a junior, Jason Foster has 936 points in 66 games, including 64 started, and he would have to average 6.4 ppg to reach 1,000 this season. At his current pace of 17.3 ppg, Foster will hit quadruple-digits on Feb. 2 against George Fox.
Scouting Lewis & Clark
The Pioneers, picked by the coaches to win the NWC this season, head into Friday's matchup with a record of 9-5 overall and just 3-3 in conference play. For the third straight week, the Pios split a pair of NWC game, defeating George Fox on the raod, 76-55, before falling to Willamette, 82-71, at home. Mark Robinowitz and Tyson Papenfuss lead the L&C offense with 12.7 and 12.0 ppg respectively. Gene Rivera leads the Pio's defense, averaging 7.3 rpg with 22 blocks on the season.
Scouting Willamette
The Bearcats head into the weekend with a record of 5-10 overall and 3-3 in NWC play. Last week, they fell at Linfield in a midweek game before bouncing back to knock off Lewis & Clark. Kyler McClary and Mike Smith have both been solid on offense, averaging 16.5 and 16.1 ppg respectively. Cameron Mitchell paces the defense with 7.5 rpg.
The Coach
Justin Lunt enters his second season as head coach of the Logger men's basketball program. A graduate of Pacific Lutheran, Lunt is a native of San Diego, Calif. Heading into this weekend, Lunt now has a career record of 30-9, including 16-6 in the Northwest Conference.
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