BOX SCORE
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Lewis & Clark
men's basketball team inched one game closer to clinching the
No. 2 seed in next week's Northwest Conference playoffs with
a 73-68 win over Whitman College on Friday night. Tyler Tsukasaki
led the way for the Pioneers, hitting six 3-pointers to score 22 of
his 24 points in the second half.
The Pioneers improve to 10-5 in the NWC (18-8 overall), while
Whitman end their season 9-16 overall (5-11 NWC).
Tsukasaki was the leading scorer for the game with 24 points,
while James Edwards added 12 points for the Pioneers. Tsukasaki
finished 8-11 from the floor, including 6 of 8 from distance.
Senior David Berggren led the Pioneers in rebounds grabbing eight
boards.
Brandon Shaw led the Missionaries in points with 19, while
teammate Chris Faidley contributed 15. Faidley also ended the game
leading all players in rebounds with nine.
Both teams came out flat in the first half of action; with the
Pioneers taking a 27-26 lead into halftime. The second half was all
Pioneers, who never relinquished control of the lead, running up to
a 13 point advantage with half of the period remaining.
Shaw would cut the Pioneer lead to one point with 00:22 on the
clock, but it would not deter the Pioneers. James Hollins answered
back moments later with two successful free-throw attempts,
followed by a made layup by Edwards to give the Pioneers the five
point victory.
Lewis & Clark concludes its regular season Sunday afternoon
against Whitworth, who currently sits in second place in the NWC.
If the Pioneers can knock off Whitworth on Sunday, they will finish
in a second-place tie with Whitworth and earn the No. 2 seed in the
NWC tournament. A win would bring the Pioneers home to Pamplin
Gymnasium on Thursday 2/26 to host a first round game.
