BOUNCING BACK
The good news is that the Puget Sound Loggers still sit in first place in the Northwest Conference despite a tough loss at the hands of a scrappy George Fox team on Saturday. This week, they hit the road as they travel to Pacific Lutheran on Tuesday and Linfield on Friday night.
The Loggers vs. Pacific
The seventh-ranked Puget Sound Loggers never trailed as they picked up an easy 90-65 win over the Pacific Boxers in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
The Loggers (15-2, 8-1 NWC) used a basket by Antwan Williams (Portland, Ore./Madison) just 34 seconds into the game to take an initial lead over the Boxers (6-13, 4-6 NWC) and UPS never looked back. A jumper by junior Jason Foster (Tacoma, Wash./Foss) with 10:51 on the clock gave UPS a 10-point lead as the Loggers eventually took a 41-25 lead into the break.
In the second half, Puget Sound was able to build on the lead to go up by as many as 34 with 9:41 remaining as they picked up the 90-65 victory. The Loggers forced 34 turnovers on the night, recording a season-high 22 steals in the game.
Foster led the way with 15 points and eight boards on the game and is now just nine points away from 1,000 for his career. Taylor Marsh (Lynnwood, Wash./Meadowdale) and Robert Krauel (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) added 12 points each while Weston Wood (Spokane, Wash./Riverside) chipped in 11.
The Loggers vs. George Fox
On a night that should have belonged to junior forward Jason Foster (Tacoma, Wash./Foss), the George Fox Bruins spoiled the party, upsetting the seventh-ranked Puget Sound Loggers, 78-77, in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
The Bruins (6-13, 2-8 NWC) came firing out of the gate, scoring the games first eight points to take an early lead on the Loggers (15-3, 8-2 NWC). With just about 8:30 remaining in the half, Foster hit a three-ball that not only pulled UPS within four but gave him over 1,000 points in his collegiate career. The Bruins continued to apply the pressure, taking a 37-31 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, it looked like the Loggers might succeed in the comeback. Using a Foster layup with 16:31 remaining in the contest, the Loggers took their first lead of the night, 41-39. Puget Sound pushed that lead to six with 13:08 remaining but the Bruins weren't ready to roll over, taking back the lead less than a minute later.
After a see-saw battle over the second half of the final period, the Loggers tied the game up on a jumper with 1:07 remaining. GFU answered with a basket to pull ahead by two but a Robert Krauel (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) free throw pull the Loggers within one. The Bruins again pushed the lead up to three before Antwan Williams (Portland, Ore./Madison) hit a jumper with seven seconds remaining to get back within one. Krauel stole the inbounds pass and was quickly fouled but he was unable to hit either free throw as the Bruins escaped Tacoma with the 78-77 victory.
The Loggers were led by 40 points from Foster, who now has 1,031 points in his collegiate career. He is just the eighth Logger ever to score 40 points and the first since Matt Droege went for 41 against Lewis-Clark State in 1994-95. Krauel came off the bench to add 15 points and 10 rebounds while Williams finished with 11 points on the night.
Statistically Speaking
At 95.1 points per game, the Loggers have the best offense in the NWC. The Loggers also lead the way in scoring margin (+14.7), field goal percentage (.500), steals (13.61 spg), turnover margin (+7.94), and attendence (1091). Individually Jason Foster, Antwan Williams and Robert Krauel are all among the top-10 in scoring. Williams leads the NWC in steals at 3.11 spg, which is also ninth nationally.
Among The Nation's Best
The Loggers fell six places in the D3hoops.com Top 25, holding down the 13th-spot in this week's poll.
Milestones
Junior forward used a big night against George Fox to score his 1,000th point in his collegiate career. Following a 40 point effort against the Bruins, Fosters career total now sits at 1031 points.
Scouting Pacific Lutheran
The Lutes head into Tuesday's game with a record of 10-8 overall, including 6-4 in NWC play. They have been strong at Olson Auditorium, going 5-1 with their lone loss coming against Whitworth. Last week, they picked up two last-second wins over George Fox and Lewis & Clark. Josh Dressler leads the way with 21 ppg while Scott McDaniels is adding 19.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
Scouting Linfield
The Wildcats come into Friday's game in McMinnville with a record of 11-8 overall and 6-4 in NWC play. They split a pair of games east of the mountains last weekend, falling at Whitworth before picking up a win at Whitman. K.C. Wiser and Steve Taylor lead the Linfield offense, averaging 14.1 ppg with Wiser adding 6.7 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 33-10, including 19-7 in the Northwest Conference.
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