The #19 Pioneer men's basketball opened the Northwest Conference
portion of their schedule on Wednesday night with an 80-75 (box score)
victory over the Pacific Boxers in Forest Grove. The Pioneers had
to overcome a 13-point second half deficit to force overtime,
before pulling out the victory. Thomas Tillery scored 17 points for
the Pioneers.
The Pacific Boxers jumped out to a hot start, leading through
much of the first half. Josh Kollasch (sophomore, Tucson, Ariz.)
hit a three-pointer at the end of the first half to cut the Pacific
lead to two, 35-33. Pacific came out of the half on an 8-2 run to
build a cushion to their lead. They extended their advantage to 13,
61-48, with 11 minutes remaining in the game. Still trailing by ten
with just over seven remaining, Joey Toboni (senior, San Francisco,
Calif.) scored six points to help cut the lead to three, 71-68,
with 2:50 remaining. The Pioneers tied the game 72-72 on a pair of
freethrows by Tyson Papenfuss (junior, Clackamas, Ore.) with 1:36
left in the game. The Pioneer defense held, sending the game to
overtime.
The Pioneers struck first in the extra frame, with a jumpshot by
Mark Robinowitz (senior, Portland, Ore.) giving the Pioneers the
edge. Pacific spent most of the OT playing catch up, never quite
managing to get the upper hand as the Pioneers hit their freethrows
down the stretch to earn the 80-73 victory.
Thomas Tillery (senior, Poreland, Ore.) scored 17 points to lead
the Pioneers. Josh Kollasch had eight points, eight rebounds, three
assists, zero turnovers, and a steal. Tyson Papenfuss had 15 points
with seven rebounds.
The Pioneers return home Saturday night for an 8pm game against
the Pacific Lutheran Lutes. The play-by-play of game will be
available live on the internet through sportsjuice.com.
