FOREST GROVE, Ore. —
K.C. Harrison netted a 18-foot jumper from the right corner at the buzzer to give Pacific a thrilling 65-63 men's basketball win over Puget Sound on Saturday night at the Stoller Center.
The win on Senior Night for the Boxers improved their record to 11-12 on the season and to 5-9 in the Northwest Conference. Puget Sound fell to 13-10 on the year and is 8-6 overall.
Harrison's fade away capped a crazy finish and sent the Boxer bench and crowd onto the floor to mob him. Just moments earlier at the other end of the floor,
Skyler Burgess blocked Kohl Meyer's leaner in the lane with six seconds left. Harrison picked up the leftovers and scurried down to the corner. His arching shot found net as the buzzer went off.
Pacific trailed 62-56 with two and a half minutes left and still were on the short end on the clock with 1:30 remaining (63-58). Harrison then performed his first magic trick, drilling a three-pointer with 1:05 left to make it a two-point game (63-61). On UPS's next possession,
Michael Joseph's steal and driving lay-up with 40 seconds left on the clock tied the game at 63-63..
That set up Meyer's drive, Burgess' block and Harrison's miracle from the corner.
Harrison finished with 17 points to lead the Boxers, 15 of those tallied in the second half.
Nate Olowo had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the home team.
DeVon Pouncey was close to a double-double like his teammate with nine points and nine rebounds. Kyle King led the Loggers with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Meyer had 14 counters.
It was a physical, defensive battle throughout. It took over five minutes for UPS to collect their first field goal, but Pacific wasn't fairing much better early. The score was 10-10 Boxers with eight minutes to go before halftime. But the Loggers picked up the pace, going on a 16-3 run over a three minute stretch to take a 30-17 lead with 3:14 left. The visitors would go into the locker room up, 33-23.
The Boxers began to warm up in the second half. A Harrison trey at 15:20 pulled his team to within four points (41-37) and Pouncey's free throw with 8:50 remaining gave Pacific its first lead since early in the contest (48-47). The teams then traded baskets until Meyer's bucket with 2:30 left gave UPS what seemed like a semi-comfortable lead at 62-56.
But the Loggers would only score one point the rest of the way, outscored by the winners 9-1 over the final two and a half minutes.
The Boxers hit 6-of-10 treys in the second half and shot 55 percent from the field after halftime. They out-rebounded the Loggers 41-32. There were 46 fouls called in the physical game, 23 on each team.
Pacific will play its final two games of the year next weekend, taking on Linfield on Friday in McMinnville and Lewis & Clark on Saturday in Portland.