Friday, Jan. 15, Pacific Boxers (8-5/2-2 NWC) at Puget Sound Loggers (7-6/2-2)
Memorial Fieldhouse, Tacoma, Wash., 8 p.m.
All-Time Series: Puget Sound leads 29-15, the teams split in 2014-15
 
Saturday, Jan. 16, Pacific Boxers at Pacific Lutheran Lutes (9-4/2-2)
Olson Gymnasium, Tacoma, Wash., 6 p.m.
All-Time Series: Pacific Lutheran leads 63-34, the teams split in 2014-15
 
After falling at home to the top two teams in the Northwest Conference (Whitworth, Whitman), the Boxers hit the road for another stiff challenge in Tacoma, taking on a pair of clubs that they are tied with—Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.
 
Whits wear down Boxers: Pacific battled Whitworth (13-0) and Whitman (11-2) tooth and nail but went cold just long enough in each game to come up short. With the losses, the Boxers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end as they picked up their first two Northwest Conference losses of the season. Those were also the first two losses this season for Pacific at the Stoller Center.
 
Bone Jarring: In both games, physical play and defense ruled the day. Versus the No. 2 nationally ranked Pirates, the Boxers held Whitworth to a season-low 62 points, but the hosts only scored four points over the final ten and a half minutes to come up short, 62-50. Less than 24 hours later against Whitman, the pressing visitors went on a 22-3 run at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to put enough distance between themselves and the weary Boxers to pull away for the win, 91-74.
 
Logjam: While Whitworth (4-0) and Whitman (3-1) claim the top two spots in the early Northwest Conference race, logjams rule in the middle and bottom of the pack.
The Boxers are tied for the third spot at 2-2 with two of the teams they play this week—Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran. George Fox is also 2-2. Three teams share a 1-3 record—Linfield, Lewis & Clark and Willamette. 
 
Chairmen of the Boards: Despite not having a player over 6'6", the Boxers have controlled the backboards so far this season. On the season they have a +13.7 advantage over their opponents, tops in the NWC. Skyler Burgess leads the team with 8.2 rebounds a contest and Michael Joseph is right behind him at 7.4. Nate Olowo adds 6.4 boards a game.
 
National Listings: In last week's NCAA stat list, the Boxers were second nationally in rebound margin. They were also 10^th in scoring margin (+16.2), 16^th in field goal defense (.377), 22^nd in scoring defense (62.2) and 18^th in rebounds per game (44.7).
 
Boxer Balance: Pacific's attack through 13 games shows a balanced stat sheet. Four players average in double figures for the Boxers, and only 2.6 points per game separate the leading scorer from the fourth. Additionally, a fifth player sits at 9.9 ppg. K.C. Harrison checks in at 12.8 points a game and a team-best three assists a game, Skyler Burgess is next at 12.4 points per game and a team-best 8.3 rebounds. DeVon Pouncey averages 10.4, Michael Joseph adds 9.9 points and 7.4 rebounds a contest and Bobby Ahern (currently injured) averages 10.2 an outing.
 
Cleary Capsule: Pacific head coach Tim Cleary is now in his sixth season in Forest Grove. Boise State's former top assistant coach is now 64-74 on the Boxer sidelines, leading Pacific to back-to-back winning seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14—and then just missed last year when his team finished 12-13. Pacific went 15-10 three seasons ago and 16-9 in '13-14.
 
Probable Starters: Coach Clearly likely will send this group to the floor this weekend when the starters are announced.
*G—#2 K.C. Harrison (6-2, 185, Jr., Las Vegas, Nev./Grays Harbor JC)
*G—#22 Michael Joseph (6-1, 205, Jr., Anchorage, Alaska/Columbia Basin JC)
*G—#4 D.J. Christian (5-11, 185, Jr., East Atlanta, Ga./Chemeketa CC)
*F—#23 Skyler Burgess (6-5, 215, Sr., Riverton, Utah/Treasure Valley JC)
*F—#44 Nate Olowo (6-6, 210, So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma HS)
 
Skyler Skies to Honors: Senior forward Skyler Burgess was named the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 7 and was named to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week on Dec. 8. In addition to 24 total rebounds in two wins, the 6-5 senior forward also scored 24 and 22 points respectively against Willamette and George Fox. In that process, he nailed 21 of 28 shots from the field (75 percent) and also had four assists and three blocked shots. Burgess is Pacific's second NWC honoree this season, as Michael Joseph also earned the honor on Nov. 11. The D3Hoops award is given to only five NCAA Division III players from across the country each week.
 
Pre-Season Look: Pre-season No. 3 nationally ranked Whitworth was the coach's pick to win the Northwest Conference again this season. The Pirates have won eight of the last nine league titles. The poll favored Whitworth, followed by Whitman, Lewis & Clark, Willamette, Puget Sound, Pacific, George Fox, Pacific Lutheran and Linfield. The current NWC standings can be found here.
http://www.nwcsports.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/standings
 
Logger Lines: Puget Sound split games over the weekend, bombing Willamette (87-54) on Friday but was then upended by Lewis & Clark on Saturday (76-69). Prior to the loss to the Pioneers, UPS had won five of their last six contests. Carlos Mancasola (Jr., 6-2, Redding, Calif.) is the teams leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, but the offense runs through Kohl Meyer (Jr., 6-3, San Diego, Calif.), who averages 12.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists a contest. Meyer's assist numbers are tops in the conference. Keith Shattuck (Sr., 6-6, Lake Forest Park, Wash.) adds 9.7 points an outing. Puget Sound has had a tough non-conference schedule, with three of their losses coming against nationally ranked NCAA Division III squads—Augustana (1), Chicago (16) and Texas Lutheran (25). Head coach Justin Lunt is in his tenth season at UPS, putting together a 144-102 career mark. His 2008-09 Logger team went 25-4 and 16-0 in the NWC, advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16. Last year, Puget Sound went 12-12 overall and 7-9 in conference play.
 
Lute Lessons: Pacific Lutheran is 9-4 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. Like the Boxers, they dropped their first two Northwest Conference games this past weekend, falling on the road to George Fox (82-74) and Linfield (53-51). Prior to those setbacks, the Lutes had won six of seven games and their 9-2 record was the programs best start since 1965-66. Brandon Lester (Jr., 5-11, Sammamish, Wash.) had a career-high 31 points in the loss to George Fox and is second in the NWC in scoring at 17.8 ppg. Bryce Miller (Sr., 6-6, Edgewood, Wash.) adds 12.5 points and a league-best 9.1 rebounds, while Dylan Foreman (So., 6-2, Bellevue, Wash.) ranks third in the NWC with 17.0 points a game. Jared Christy (Fr., 6-6, Spokane, Wash.) has been impressive in his rookie season with 7.2 points and 7.9 rebounds (fourth in the NWC). Head coach Steve Dickerson is in his tenth season on the Lute bench. He came to PLU after 33 years of coaching in the high school ranks in Columbus, Ohio. His career mark with the Lutes is 96-134, with his best season coming in 2010-11 (15-10).
 
Looking Ahead: After this weekends' games, the Boxers will return home for a weekend doubleheader on January 22-23 against Lewis & Clark and Linfield.
 
Watch and Listen: Pacific's NWC basketball games are streamed live at goboxers.com with Matt Richert handling the play-by-play. Additionally, tune in on Sunday evenings to listen to Coach Cleary on the Portland Metro Small College Hoops Podcast, hosted by Greg Crawford. The show begins at 9:30 p.m. and can be found at http://bit.ly/1x4RjqG.
LES