The Pioneer men held off the Whitman Missionaries 69-63on
Saturday, January 24, during the Pac(k) Pamplin Event (boxscore).
The Pioneers allowed just two Missionary points in the first seven
minutes of the game, earning a 9-2 lead early. Twelve minutes into
the half, the Pioneers gained a 10 point lead for several minutes,
but it soon narrowed as the Missionaries, led by the outstanding
play of their guards, attac
ked the Pioneer defense. The Pioneers were able to outscore the
Missionaries by four points in the first half, allowing little room
for error in the final 20 minutes of play.
At the start of the second half, both teams struggled from the
floor. The Missionaries stole the lead with 11:15 to go at 46-45,
but it would not stick for long. The Pioneers relied on the
Missionary fouls late in the half to maintain their lead, as they
approached the line 18 times, earning 12 points from the stripe in
the final 20 minutes of play. Alongside the Pioneers'
offensive play was a solid defense that held the Missionaries
scoreless for minutes at a time on several occasions. Whitman
failed to score for over three minutes in the final quarter of the
game, while the Pioneers continued with their offensive game. The
Missionaries finally scored again at the 1:54 mark, but by that
time it was much too late. The Pioneers put away the win at 69-63
with free throws as the Missionaries resorted to fouling in the
final minutes.
Josh Kollasch (jr., Tucson, Ariz.) and Tyson Papenfuss (sr.,
Clackamas, Ore.) led the Pioneers with 15 points apiece, both
shooting 50.0% from the floor. Kollasch added seven assists to
guide the Pioneer offense. David Berggren (sr., Tualatin, Ore.)
contributed 11 points and James Edwards (fr., Carmichael, Calif.)
added 10 in the win.
With the victory, the Pioneers improve to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in
NWC as they maintain their second place standing in conference.
They return to action on Friday, January 30 at Pamplin Sports
Center when they take on the first place undefeated Puget Sound
Loggers at 8 pm.
