FOREST GROVE, Ore. –Lewis & Clark College men's basketball outscored Pacific University 20-6 during a 7:30 span in the first half but were then held scoreless for the next 5:30 minutes as the Boxers erased a 13-point deficit and pulled away for the 81-71 Northwest Conference victory.
 
THE BASICS
 
Pacific 81, Lewis & Clark 71
(Lewis & Clark 6-18, 2-13 NWC)
(Pacific 14-10, 8-7 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Eight Pioneers recorded at least a field goal as juniors Sam Henderson and Isaac Ticeson led the team in double figures. Henderson recorded career-highs in points, minutes, and rebounds against the Boxers. He scored 24 points in 38 minutes to lead all scorers on 9-13 (69.2%) shooting and hitting 4-5 from the free throw line. Henderson was tied for a game-high nine rebounds with fellow junior Nate Berg (6 points, 3 assists). Ticeson was a perfect 5-5 from the field for 10 points with seven boards and four assists.
 
Senior Nikko Echalas and junior Sebastian DePrez were third on the team with eight points each, and sophomore Kody Uyesugi added seven to finish fourth in scoring.
 
A three by junior Mikey Medlock Jr. gave Lewis & Clark an early 5-0 lead with under two minutes from the start of the game. Pacific took their first lead, 10-9, at the 15-minute mark, and the two teams traded baskets until the Boxers held their final lead of the half, 14-13, at 11:45. Ticeson hit a layup on the next possession to start an 8-0 Pioneer run.
 
Sophomore Sidney Jones scored five consecutive points to give Lewis & Clark their first double-digit lead of the game with just under five minutes before the half. Sophomore Taien Jackson found Jones for a three at 5:29 to make it 29-20. Jones then grabbed the defensive board on the other end of the floor and drew a foul to head to the free-throw line, where he made both shots. Jones grabbed his third defensive board of the game on the next possession, and Jackson then found Berg down low to make it 33-20. The Boxers hit a three on their next trip down the floor and ended the Pioneers' 20-6 run. Echalas extended Lewis & Clark's lead back to 13 with a trey of his own at 3:34 left in the first half, but the Pioneers would not score again until the second half. Pacific scored eight straight points to cut the deficit to 36-31 at halftime.
 
The Boxers scored the first five points of the second half to tie the game at 36 at 18:54. Henderson ended the Pioneer scoring drought with a traditional three-point play, getting the layup and making the ensuing free throw less the minute later. Ticeson made a layup on a pass from Echalas at 16:58 to give Lewis & Clark the 41-40 lead. Pacific slowly grew their lead to 56-47 with 11:24 on the clock, but back-to-back threes from Uyesugi and Henderson cut the Pioneer deficit to 56-53 with 10:30 to go. The Boxers went on a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 12-point lead, their largest of the game. Lewis & Clark would get no closer than eight points in the game's final five minutes.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Jackson finished with a career-high five assists in the game.
• Jones' five points against Pacific are the most points in a NWC contest in his career.
• Lewis & Clark won the battle of the boards (35-26) against the Pacific.
• Berg's five offensive rebounds were more than any Pacific player's total rebounds.

 WHO'S NEXT
 
The Pioneers conclude their season tomorrow in Salem at 6 p.m. against Willamette.