SALEM, Ore. — In a back-and-forth Northwest Conference battle at Cone Field House, Willamette University pulled away in the final minute of play to defeat Lewis & Clark College men's basketball on Friday night.
 
THE BASICS
 
Willamette 81, Lewis & Clark 74
Lewis & Clark (8-8, 4-3 NWC)
Willamette (9-7, 4-3 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Sophomore Marcus Bast led the River Otters with 17 points and seven rebounds. He converted seven of eight free-throw attempts and dished out four assists.
 
Junior Yigit Arcan and senior Taien Jackson each added 13 points. Arcan went 5-for-9 from the field and recorded two blocks. Jackson pulled down four rebounds and contributed two assists.
 
Senior Kody Uyesugi scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds, while fellow senior Justin White finished with four points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Junior Joe Brown scored eight points, making two of three 3-point attempts, and fifth-year senior Khalil Glover-Dodson added two points and three assists in 11 minutes.
 
Lewis & Clark opened strong, taking a 10-2 advantage three and a half minutes into the game. White converted a jumper 16 seconds into the contest, and Jackson followed with a 3-pointer at 16:59 to extend the lead to 8-2. The River Otters maintained control throughout much of the first half. The score was tied nine times, and the lead changed hands six times before intermission.
 
Bast scored six consecutive points in the final four minutes of the opening period. He made three straight free throws after drawing a foul with 3:39 remaining, then converted a fast-break layup at 3:02 to even the score at 29. He followed by hitting the second of two free throws with just under two minutes left. Jackson put the River Otters up 32-31 off a feed from Glover-Dodson 30 seconds later. Bast sank three free throws with 25 seconds remaining to send Lewis & Clark into halftime with a 37-36 advantage.
 
The River Otters extended their lead to nine points midway through the second half. Bast opened the period with back-to-back layups in the first 30 seconds, and Uyesugi connected on a 3-pointer at 18:49 to make the score 44-38. Brown provided a spark, draining back-to-back 3-pointers to put Lewis & Clark ahead 52-47. Glover-Dodson scored on a fast-break layup at 11:19, giving the River Otters their largest lead at 58-49.
 
Willamette responded with a 17-6 run to tie the game at 66 with six minutes left. The Bearcats grabbed their first lead since early in the half when Deacon Perry made a layup at 5:28 to put Willamette ahead 68-66. Lewis & Clark regained the lead, 74-72, when Jackson scored on a driving layup at 1:51.
 
Willamette's Tanner Overby made five consecutive free throws in the final 48 seconds to seal the victory. The Bearcats scored the final nine points of the game. Overby finished with a game-high 28 points.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Lewis & Clark shot 93.8 percent from the free-throw line, converting 15 of 16 attempts.
• The River Otters held a 21-11 advantage in assists. Bast and White led the team with four, while Glover-Dodson added three.
• Lewis & Clark received 24 points from the bench, led by Arcan's 13.
• The game saw 11 lead changes and 13 ties.

WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark returns home to host Linfield College on Saturday evening in Northwest Conference action. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Pamplin Sports Center.