PORTLAND, Ore.—Willamette University used a 12-2 run to start the second half to open up a 16-point lead and never let host Lewis & Clark men's basketball get fully back into the game on Monday night at Pamplin Sports Center. 

THE BASICS
Willamette University 77, Lewis & Clark 66
(Lewis & Clark 5-12, Northwest Conference 1-7) 
(Willamette 10-6, NWC 5-3) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Pioneers held the league's highest-scoring offense to just 35 first-half points but the Bearcats early push in the second half was too much to overcome. 
 
Sophomore Kody Uyesugi continued his strong play at home with a team-high 15 points. Uyesugi went 5-12 from the field and hit three of the Pioneers five made 3-pointers. Uyesugi also added two rebounds, two steals and an assist. 
 
Junior Griffin Datcher IV registered his first collegiate double-double in the loss. Datcher IV pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. He added 11 points and a single assist, block and steal. 
 
Junior Isaac Ticeson scored all 10 of his points in the second half. The Pioneers big man shot an efficient 5-7 from the field. 
 
Willamette junior Josiah Frank scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half. Frank went 10-16 from the field, hit three of six 3-point attempts and added three rebounds. 
 
Jack Boydell (14 points), Ryder Hsiung (12 points) and D'Ante Dean (10 points) all joined Frank in double-figures to help Willamette earn their second win in a row and fourth win in six tries to start 2024. 
 
The two teams traded leads early on with all four lead changes and two ties coming before the second media timeout. Frank gave the Bearcats the lead for good with a layup at 12:12 (9-8 lead) and Willamette extended their advantage to seven (18-11) with 9:03 left. 
 
Lewis & Clark shaved the deficit to six on five occasions, before Uyesugi knocked down a deep triple to make it 30-25 with 2:35 to play. After a Frank 3-pointer, Mikey Medlock Jr. hit a three of his own to once again make it a five-point game (33-28). Frank hit one more shot but a Sam Henderson free throw helped Lewis & Clark get back to within 35-29 with 39 seconds left. Frank drove to the basket with time winding down and threatened to add to his total but Sebastian Deprez came across for a big block to keep the game at 35-29. 
 
Willamette opened the second half on a 5-0 run with a 3-pointer from Hsiung and two free throws from Boydell. Henderson would knock down a floating layup to cut the deficit back to nine (40-31) but Willamette would score seven more in a row to grab a 47-31 advantage. 
 
The Bearcats would hold a double-digit lead until the 2:19 mark when Nate Berg capped off an 8-0 Pioneers run with a 3-pointer. Uyesgui started the flurry with a three and Henderson added a layup to help Lewis & Clark draw within 67-59. 
 
Uyesugi drained another 3-pointer with a minute to go to make it 71-64 but Willamette hit all six of their free throws in the final 60 seconds to earn a 77-66 win. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Lewis & Clark pulled down 16 offensive rebounds – which marked their second-most of the NWC season. The Pioneers recorded 17 rebounds in their second NWC game of the year against George Fox University (December 1). The Pioneers finished tied with Willamette in second-chance points (13-13). 
• Datcher IV is the second Pioneer to post a double-double this season. Berg recorded 14 points and 16 rebounds against Northwest Indian College on December 12. 
• Henderson just missed double-figures with nine points and five rebounds. 
• Uyesugi is averaging 12.5 points per game in his last four home game and has posted double-digit points in three of those four contests. His 15 points on Monday were his second-highest of the season and most during a conference contest. 
• Medlock Jr. (seven points) and Berg (five points and eight rebounds) finished fifth and sixth on the Pioneers in scoring. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will start the second half of the conference season on Friday in McMinnville. The Pioneers will play Linfield University at 8 p.m.