News Release

Spokane, Wash. — Spokane, Wash. -- The University of Puget Sound tightened the defense to outscore Whitworth College 56-37 in the second half to spark the visiting Loggers to a 97-84 win over the Pirates in a key Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night.

Puget Sound, ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 19-2 overall and 11-1 in the NWC. The Loggers won at Whitworth for the first time since they joined the Northwest Conference in 1997. UPS also took a two-game lead in the conference standings after Willamette's loss at L&C.

Whitworth lost a six-game winning streak and fell to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in the NWC.

After Whitworth took a 47-41 halftime lead by shooting 59% in the first half (19/32), the Loggers' defense took over. They held Whitworth to 43% shooting (15/35) in the second half and forced 11 Pirate turnovers.

Chase Curtiss sparked the second half rally with four consecutive three-pointers, turning a 59-56 Whitworth lead into a 68-59 Logger advantage. After Matt Glynn sank a three-pointer to extend the lead to 85-73, UPS never led by less than 10 points the rest of the way.

Curtiss made 10 of 17 three-pointers to finish with 34 points to lead UPS. Glynn added 26 points. Josh Walker made 10 of 11 free throws to add 15 points and Chris O'Donnell led the Loggers with six rebounds.

Bryan Depew led Whitworth with 24 points, while Scott Bierlink added 22 points and eight rebounds.

Puget Sound can clinch the NWC title with a pair of wins when they host Willamette and L&C next weekend. Whitworth will travel to Oregon to take on Pacific and Linfield.

PUGET SOUND 97, WHITWORTH 84

PUGET SOUND (19-2, 11-1 NWC)
Curtiss, Chase 11-18 2-2 34; Glynn, Matt 9-20 5-7 26; Walker, Josh 2-2 10-11 15; O'Donnell, Chris 3-5 1-2 7; Chang, Stephen 1-2 2-2 5; Medved, Curtis 1-4 0-0 2; Mendoza, Mario 1-2 0-2 2; Cross, Jeremy 1-3 0-0 2; Shelton, Aubrey 0-3 0-0 0; Buehler, Vincent 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-61 24-30 97.

WHITWORTH (15-6, 8-4 NWC)
Depew, Bryan 10-15 4-5 24; Bierlink, Scott 9-16 3-3 22; Young, Jon 4-8 0-0 11; Williams, Bryan 4-8 0-1 9; Gebbers, John 3-13 2-4 8; Larkin, Mike 2-2 2-4 6; Borton, Byron 1-2 0-0 2; Johnson, Chris 1-1 0-0 2; Humphrey, Rhett 0-1 0-0 0; Wyatt, Kevin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-67 11-17 84.

Puget Sound...................   41   56  -   97
Whitworth.....................   47   37  -   84

3-point goals-Puget Sound 15-36 (Curtiss, Chase 10-17; Glynn, Matt 3-11; Walker, Josh 1-1; Chang, Stephen 1-2; Mendoza, Mario 0-1; Buehler, Vincent 0-1; Medved, Curtis 0-3), Whitworth 5-17 (Young, Jon 3-7; Bierlink, Scott 1-5; Williams, Bryan 1-2; Humphrey, Rhett 0-1; Wyatt, Kevin 0-1; Gebbers, John 0-1). Fouled out--Puget Sound-None, Whitworth-Bierlink, Scott. Rebounds-Puget Sound 34 (O'Donnell, Chris 6), Whitworth 37 (Bierlink, Scott 8). Assists-Puget Sound 15 (Mendoza, Mario 6), Whitworth 15 (Bierlink, Scott 7). Total fouls-Puget Sound 18, Whitworth 24. A-1386