Boxers Fall To Pioneers In Tale Of Two Halves
Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. – The first half was the best of times for Pacific, and the second proved to be the worst of times.
After shooting 53 percent from the field and 57 percent from three-point range in the first half and building a 12-point lead early in the second half, the Boxers saw their shooting all but disappear in the final 20 minutes as Lewis & Clark stormed back to take a 63-61 victory in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Pamplin Sports Center.
Pacific's big first half performance was mirrored by struggles in the second half. The Boxers shot 26.9 percent from the field and just 3 of 13 from long range in the final 20 minutes, while the Pioneers bounced back to shoot 50 percent from both the field and from three-point range in the same time span. Pacific's 12-point lead with 17 minutes left disappeared on Ross Erickson's lay-in at the 7-minute mark as the Pioneers built a six-point lead with four minutes to go.
Colin Wester (Sr., Sherwood, Ore.) led the Boxers with 20 points, shooting 8 of 16 from the field to go along with eight rebounds.
Danny Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) and
Dustin Bowser (Sr., Bellingham, Wash.) each added 11 points, with Bowser making 5 of 9 to go along with eight rebounds.
James Hollins paced four Lewis & Clark players in double figures with 15 points, connecting on 7 of 16 from the field. Dexter Pearce added 14 points while Scott Pisapia and Erickson each scored 11 points. The Pioneers outrebounded the Boxers 37-36 and forced 14 Boxers' turnovers.
Pacific (8-6, 2-3 NWC) opened the first half hot and stayed that way throughout the opening 20 minutes. Back-to-back lay-ins by Bowser gave the Boxers a 16-8 lead at the 12:29 mark, but the Pioneers closed back to within two on Hollins' trey with 10:24 left. A Bowser lay-in with 9:06 to go opened up an 8-0 run for the Boxers, culminating on a three-pointer by Brakebush that put the Boxers ahead 26-16 with eight minutes left.
The Boxers extended the lead to 11 points on Wester's lay-in with 4:44 left, but the Pioneers (10-6, 4-3 NWC) stayed in the game and closed the deficit to 36-30 at the half.
Pacific appeared to still have their shooting mojo early in the second half, opening up their largest lead of 12 points on a Brakebush free throw four minutes into the frame. From that point, the momentum swung Lewis & Clark's direction. Erickson cut the Pacific lead to three points with his three-pointer with 12:29 to go and he finally eliminated the advantage when his lay-in tied the contest 52-52 with 7:01 to go.
Lewis & Clark went on to build a 61-55 lead on Pisapia's three-pointer with 3:23 to go. Pacific came back to come within two on Wester's three-pointer with six seconds left. The calculated risk of fouling paid off as Ben Neves missed the first of a one-and-one to set up a chance to tie or win, but Brakebush's three-pointer was no good.
Pacific returns home on Saturday as they host Puget Sound. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Live audio and video webcasts of the game will be available at goboxers.com.
