The Pioneer men fell to the #21 Puget Sound Loggers, 57-81 on
Friday, January 2, in their conference opener in Tacoma,
Wash (boxscore). The
Pioneers entered the game in third place in NWC standings prior to
conference play at 6-3 overall, while the Loggers held the second
place slot at 7-2 overall.
The Pioneers were paced by James Edwards (Fr., Carmichael,
Calif.) in the first half, scoring nine points and leading the
Pioneer press break. After playing from behind seven in the first
10 minutes, the Pioneers slowly chipped away at the Logger-lead,
coming within two at the 8:49 mark. But the Logger press caused
some problems for the Pioneers, who committed 11 turnovers, the
majority of which came during the pressbreak. The Pioneers came out
cold from the floor, shooting just 33.3% to the Loggers 42.9%.
However, it was the solid 80% Pioneer performance from the free
throw line that kept the Pioneers within reach of the nationally
ranked Loggers. The Pioneers entered the locker-room down by just
six points at 34-28.
Second half play resulted in a Logger run, outscoring the Pioneers
47-29. The Loggers jumped out to a 14-point lead five minutes into
the half and never looked back. From there, the Pioneers battled
back to within 10 several times, but the Logger shooting was too
devastating. Despite forcing 18 total Logger turnovers, the
Pioneers were unable to hold off the relentless Logger offense, who
went an impressive 68% from the floor in the second half. The
Pioneers went 38.5% from the floor in the second half, unable to
match the spectacular shooting performance of the
Loggers.
Josh Kollasch (Jr., Tucson, Ariz.) led the Pioneers with 17 points
in just 26 minutes of play. James Edwards contributed 15 points.
Both Pioneer players shot 50% from the floor.
The Pioneers fall to 6-4 overall with the loss, and 0-1 in
conference play. They will play their second game of the Tacoma
trip on Saturday, January 3, against Pacific Lutheran University,
who is currently tied with Lewis & Clark for third place. Tip
off will be at 8 pm following the 6 pm women's game.
