Box Score

TACOMA, Wash. – Bobby Ahern (Jr., Madras, Ore.) came alive for a career high 24 points Saturday night, but the effort was not enough as Pacific dropped a 76-64 decision to Puget Sound in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at Memorial Fieldhouse.
 
Ahern, who previous career high was a 12-point performance against Cornell (Iowa) on Dec. 23, connected on 8 of 15 from the field.  His seven three-pointers made was one short of the Pacific single game record of eight set by Tony Beo in 1993 and equaled by Brett Jefferies in 1995.
 
The junior had 14 of his 24 in the first half, helping the Boxers keep within one point at halftime.  But for the second night in a row, the Boxers (6-7, 1-3 NWC) fell victim to poor second half shooting, managing just 30 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes after shooting 46.4 percent in the first half.  Pacific finished the night shooting 37.9 percent (22-58) and 35.3 percent (12-34) from three-point range.
 
Skyler Burgess (Jr., Riverton, Utah), Coby Proctor (Sr., Sublimity, Ore.) and Daniel Gunther (Jr., San Jose, Calif.) each contributed eight points, with Gunther's effort also setting a Pacific career high.  Mitch Wettig (Sr., Bend, Ore.) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Puget Sound (7-4, 2-1 NWC) surged in the second half, shooting 52.2 percent from the field and finished the contest shooting 49 percent (24-49) and 9 of 19 from beyond the arc.  Erin Barber led five Loggers in double figures with 14 points.  Nick Holden and Kohl Meyer each had 11 while Keith Shattuck and James Osorio scored 11 apiece.
 
The first half was a well-contested battle with the team tying the contest five times and changing leads nine times.  The Boxers opened up an 11-6 lead on Ahern's second three-pointer of the game at the 12:29 mark, a margin they would equal two more times in the next two minutes.  Puget Sound answered to take a four-point lead, 25-21, on Matt Reid's jumper with 7:19 left, but the Boxers came back to tie take back the 26-25 advantage on a pair of Proctor free throws with 5:26 left.
 
The lead seesawed three more times in the period, with the Boxers building a 34-30 lead on Burgess' lay-in with 2:22 left.  The Loggers closed the half of a 5-0 run, with Shattuck's trey with 11 seconds left giving Puget Sound a 35-34 halftime lead.
 
Pacific reclaimed the lead early on in the second half, building a 44-40 advantage on Michael Garcia's (Fr., Forest Grove, Ore.) three-pointer at the 14:56 mark.  Puget Sound tied the game at 44-44 on Meyer's lay-in a minute later. 
 
The game was tied at 50-50 with 10:47 to go when the Loggers hit their stride, closing the contest on a 24-14 run.  Shattuck's three-pointer with 3:56 to go gave the Loggers a 66-58 lead and Barber's three with 2:03 to go made it a double-digit advantage, 71-62, with 2:03 left.  Pacific came within seven points twice in the stretch, but no closer.
 
Pacific returns to the Stoller Center next weekend to host the eastern Washington schools.  The Boxers will host defending NWC champion Whitworth on Friday at 8 p.m., and welcome Whitman on Saturday at 6 p.m.  Video and audio webcasts of both games will be available at GoBoxers.com.