Box Score PORTLAND, Ore.—The University of Puget Sound used a 19-0 first-half run to take control and never let host Lewis & Clark College men's basketball back into the game on Friday night at Pamplin Gymnasium. 
 
THE BASICS
Puget Sound 79, Lewis & Clark 60 
(Lewis & Clark 6-16, Northwest Conference 2-11) 
(Puget Sound 12-10, NWC 8-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Lewis & Clark came out for warmups wearing "This Game Is No Secret" on the front of their warmups to raise awareness for one of ERACISM's initiatives. ERACISM established the "This Game is No Secret" event to bring awareness to Coach John McLendon, who organized a game in the Jim Crow South between his all-black North Carolina College Eagles and the all-white Duke Blue Devils 80 years ago this year. The Eagles easily defeated the Blue Devils 88-44 in a secret Sunday morning game on March 12, 1944.   
 
Junior Griffin Datcher IV led the Pioneers with 14 points on 5-9 shooting. He added four rebounds and a steal. 
 
Junior Mikey Medlock Jr. and Sam Henderson joined Datcher IV in double-figures. Medlock Jr. posted 13 points including hitting a team-high two 3-pointers. Henderson tacked on 10 points and five rebounds. 
 
Puget Sound's Jack Bailey (20 points) and Liam Ruttledge (19 points) combined for 39 points on 13-26 shooting. The Loggers duo went 9-18 from deep and were the lone Puget Sound players to finish in double-figures. 
 
Playing in front of one of their biggest crowds of the season, Lewis & Clark got off to a decent start. Henderson fought his way to the rim to score on the opening possession and the Pioneers held four separate leads in the opening 4.5 minutes. 
 
Puget Sound built a mini 13-9 lead, before Sebastian DePrez hit a free throw and Datcher IV scored on a fastbreak to make it 13-12 with 14 minutes left in the half. Scoring would be extremely difficult from there, as the Pioneers hit just one more field goal and were limited to nine points over the final 14 minutes. 
 
During that drought, Puget Sound used a 19-0 run to build a 32-12 lead (4:41 to go) and stretched their advantage to as many as 28 points late in the half. Lewis & Clark closed the stanza on a 7-0 run. Medlock Jr. hit four-straight free throws and then with under five seconds to go in the half, Taien Jackson forced a steal and pulled up for a deep, buzzer-beating three to cut the deficit to 44-23 at the break. 
 
The Loggers would slowly stretch their advantage back to 28 by the midway point of the second half. Puget Sound made it a 29-point game with 6:49 to go (69-40), before Lewis & Clark closed the contest on a 26-10 run. 
 
Lewis & Clark finally found their 3-point shooting touch late with Kody Uyesugi, TJ Muhammad, Sidney Jones and Medlock Jr. all hitting threes in the final seven minutes. 
 
Throughout Friday's doubleheader, Lewis & Clark raised money for Harper's Playground, a local non-profit organization that is on a mission to create inclusive playgrounds where people of all ages and abilities are invited to play together. All support from tonight's contest will help Harper's Playground inspire global communities to build playgrounds that use storytelling, consulting, and unique design principles to create playful nature-scapes where people of all ages and abilities find belonging and social connection through play.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Lewis & Clark earned a 12-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Lewis & Clark forced 18 Loggers miscues and only turned the ball over 10 times themselves. 
• Datcher IV reached double-figures for the second-straight game and fourth time in the last five games. He's averaging 13.4 points per game during the stretch. 
• Senior Nikko Echalas made his return to the lineup after missing the past month. The Pioneers point guard has appeared in just three conference games and six total games this season due to a slew of injuries.  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will host Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday at 6 p.m. in their final home game of the 2023-24 season. Prior to the contest, Lewis & Clark will honor seniors Roderick O'Neal, Echalas and student assistant coach Jayden Simpson.