Pacific’s strong interior defense did its job against the Loggers’ posts, but the three-point acumen of Chase Curtiss, Antwan Williams and Taylor Marsh proved too much for the Boxers. Pacific however, succeeded in holding down the highly potent UPS offense. The Loggers’ 76 points were the fewest this season in four games.
Curtiss led the Loggers (4-1, 2-0 NWC) with 23 points, including 6 of 10 from three-point range. Zack McVey connected for 14 points to go along with nine rebounds. Branden Kawazoe (Sr., Hilo, Hawaii) led the Boxers (4-2, 1-1 NWC) with 13 points, Ross Bartlett (Fr., St. Helens, Ore.) finished with 11 and Mison Henley (Sr., Kent, Wash.) connected for 10 as the Boxers outshot the Loggers 45 percent to 44 percent.
The Boxers beat the Loggers at their own fast-paced game early in the first half, taking a 20-13 lead on Kyle Motta’s (Jr., Fish Haven, Idaho) lay-in at the 9:43 mark. The Loggers opened a 10-2 run at that point, ending on Curtiss’ second three-pointer of the night to give the Loggers their first lead at 25-22. Puget Sound used three-pointers by Curtiss and Williams opened up a 42-29 UPS halftime lead.
The UPS offensive machine continued to roll in the second half, opening up a 56-36 lead on McVey’s dunk at the 12:37 mark. They built their biggest lead of 28 with 4:38 left before a 6-2 in the final minutes narrowed the lead to the game final.
Pacific will return to action on Saturday, hosting Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 8:00 p.m. The Loggers are off until Dec. 19, when they face Penn State-Erie at the Caltech Classic Tournament.