TACOMA, Wash.- The Pacific University men's basketball team dropped a contest on the road on Friday night 76-65 in Tacoma. The Boxers tried to mount a series of comebacks throughout the game however they would run out of time their final effort.
 
Pacific (5-11, 1-6 NWC) was led by Lucas Winkler (Freshman/Portland, OR) and Jacob Bolger (Junior/Portland, OR) who each contributed 13 points. Winkler had an efficient night from long-range converting all three of his attempts while also leading the team with both six rebounds and six assists.
 
Puget Sound (8-9, 3-5 NWC) was able to shoot the ball extremely well from deep going 9-16 (56.3%) on the evening. Paul Johnson led the way for the home team with 22 points in 35 minutes of action.
 
How It Happened
The Boxers got off to a slow start to open the game turning it over on three of their first four possessions. The Boxers began to settle in on the offensive end with a layup and three-pointer on back-to-back offensive possessions both coming from Jared Cattell (Senior/Bremerton, WA). Following the first media timeout, the Loggers were able to go on a 9-0 that lasted 2:23 before Ethan Chung (Junior/San Ramon, CA) was able to navigate traffic in the lane and convert a layup. The Loggers forced a Boxer timeout with 10 minutes remaining in the opening half following three consecutive three-pointers. Mario Mora (Senior/Bend, OR) was able to knock down his first three-point field goal half ending a 1-10 drought from long range. The Boxers were able go on a 14-2 run forcing five Puget Sound turnovers in an effort to close out the opening half strong. As the teams went to the locker room the Boxers trailed 45-33. The Loggers 12-point lead was on the back of shooting 8-11 (72.7%) from long range. The Boxers were able to outscore the Loggers 22-10 on points in the paint in the first half.
 
The Loggers opened the second half by stretching the lead to 53-37 heading into the under 16 media timeout. The Loggers achieved this through their defense forcing the Boxers to open the half going 2-9 from the floor. The Boxers were able to get the deficit to single digits, 56-47, following a Bolger steal and layup with 12:36 remaining in the half. Winkler would not let the Boxers lead swell by knocking down a pair of three pointers on his way to shooting 3-3 on the night from long range. A Cattell free throw with 3:13 remaining would put the Boxers down seven. The Loggers were scoreless for 2:58 before converting three free throws with 1:53 remaining in the contest. Cattell would convert a shot from long range with 32.5 seconds remaining making the score 74-65. The Loggers would convert two free throws down the stretch on the way to the 76-65 victory.
 
By The Numbers

• The Boxers outscored the Loggers 36-26 on points in the paint.
• Pacific registered 7 players with double digit minutes

 
Up Next
The Boxers will look to close out the first half of conference play strong on Saturday night against Willamette with a scheduled 6 P.M. tipoff inside the Stoller Center in Forest Grove.
 
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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