PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College men's basketball cut a 16-point, second-half deficit to four points, but the Pioneers rally ultimately fell short in a 62-56 home loss to Willamette University. 

THE BASICS
 
Willamette University 62, Lewis & Clark 56
(Lewis & Clark 9-9, Northwest Conference 5-4)
(Willamette 7-10, NWC 1-8) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
After a slow start to the game for both teams, Willamette used a pair of 12-0 runs to build a 37-21 lead and came up with several key baskets down the stretch to put the game away. 
 
Senior Griffin Datcher IV led Lewis & Clark with 13 points. He tacked on seven rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal in 26 minutes of action. 
 
Fellow senior Nate Berg was the only other Pioneer to finish in double-figures. Berg continued his strong play of late, with his first double-double of the season and second at Lewis & Clark. He finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds on 5-8 shooting. 
 
Senior Sam Henderson and junior Andre Treadwell each chipped in nine points apiece. Henderson finished third on the team with five rebounds and Treadwell posted a team-high four steals. 
 
Despite struggling to get anything going in the early going, Lewis & Clark held a slim 11-10 lead with 12:22 to go in the first half. Willamette would respond with a 12-0 run to take the lead for good (22-11). Lewis & Clark would answer with a 7-0 flurry to get back within 22-18 but the Bearcats closed the first half on a 10-0 run over the final 5:49 before halftime. 
 
Josiah Frank would open the second half with a layup to give the Bearcats their largest lead of the game at 37-21 with 19:43 to play. 
 
Lewis & Clark would come out of halftime with more energy and began to cut into the deficit. The Pioneers would use a 9-0 surge to get back within 37-30 behind five points from Datcher IV. 
 
From there, Willamette would push their lead back to double-digits, only for Lewis & Clark to cut it two possessions on two occasions. The second time, the Pioneers used an 11-0 run to cut a 15-point deficit to 52-48 with 8:03 to play. Mikey Medlock Jr. (five), Berg, Treadwell and Datcher IV all scored during the spurt. 
 
Willamette would once again counter, but Lewis & Clark never let the deficit get past nine points. The Pioneers final comeback effort came in the final 4:32. With the Bearcats leading 58-49, Henderson (layup), Treadwell (dunk) and Medlock Jr. (free throw) keyed a 5-0 run to once again cut the lead to four with 2:12 left. 
 
Kai Brown and Frank each hit contested layups down the stretch and Lewis & Clark missed three 3-pointers. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Berg's double-double was his first since 14 points and 16 rebounds against Portland Bible College on December 12, 2023. He has averaged 9.33 points and 10.67 rebounds over his past three games. 
• Despite posting a season-high 19 turnovers, Lewis & Clark held a 24-17 edge in points off turnovers. 
• Datcher IV posted a career-high six assists on Tuesday. He leads the Pioneers this season in points per game (10.3) and assists (29)/assists per game (2.23), while ranking third in rebounds per game (4.7). 
• Willamette finished the game with a 15-10 lead in fast-break points and 21-16 edge in second-chance points. The Bearcats also finished with an 11-4 edge in blocks. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will return to action on Friday night, when they travel to Pacific University for a 6 p.m. tip-off.