Men’s basketball makes it all the way to the NWC Championship, but sadly comes short

In a game against Whitman College Thursday Feb. 27 in Walla Walla, the men’s basketball team defeated the Whitman Missionaries 71:56. After a grueling first half with Whitman in the lead and a challenging beginning into the second half, the Logger men took the lead with 1:40 left on the clock as AJ Maw (Lake Stevens, Wash.), a guard, scored a point off a layup. Through continued possession of the ball until the final seconds of the game and missed shots by Whitman’s Missionaries, the Loggers kept their lead.
“I’m very proud of our guy’s resiliency. Whitman is a great team, and our guys did an excellent job keeping our composure in the packed gym. It was a great win,” Puget Sound head coach Justin Lunt said.
This victory advances the Loggers to the Division III Northwest conference championship against Whitworth College at their home court in Spokane. The two teams will play Saturday, Mar. 1.
This is the Loggers’ second time competing in the Northwest Championship Conference in the last three years. The last time Puget Sound competed in the championship was in 2012, competing also against Whitworth College. In the championship two years ago, the Loggers put up quite a fight, but could not prevail and lost to the Pirates 86:71. Puget Sound has also competed in the NWC championship game five times since 2006.
Whitworth has won five conference titles in a row, taking the trophy since 2008, making it the very first five-year straight win in Northwest Conference men’s basketball history. They have competed in the Northwest Conference championship game for eight straight years.
The Loggers finished their season fighting until the very last minute of the NWC championship game. At the half, the Loggers were down by 14 at a score of 40:26. Rallying to gain control in the second half, the Logger men lead outscored the host Pirates 12:4, but remained down with a score of 44:38.
About halfway through the second half, the Loggers pulled through after six straight points, tying both teams for the second time in the game for a score of 58-all. James Osorio (Mountain View, Calif.) scored a three-pointer with 3:14 left on the clock, giving the Logger men a three-point advantage, their greatest lead over the Pirates during the game. This lead, though, did not last for long.
In the final two minutes of the dual, the Pirates scored three points, ending the game with a victory of 71:68, a battle the Logger men are proud of, though it’s a loss.
“It was a tough loss, but I am extremely proud of this group. They never quit and they kept battling every possession. The players did an amazing job representing our university tonight,” Lunt said.
In the aftermath of the grueling match, both the Pirates and the Loggers display very similar shooting averages, the Pirates at 44.4 percent and the Loggers at 42.9 percent. The Loggers proudly out-rebounded Whitworth 37:31 and gained more turnovers and second chance points.
Within the last year the men’s basketball team has returned to a dominant position in the conference, exceeding players, coaches and other teams’ expectations.
“This season, my third year, definitely exceeded my expectations,” wing guard Jonathan Brown (Oakland, Calif.), who earlier this academic year broke his leg and got two concussions, said. In comparing of last season and this season, they are “night and day,” Brown said. “We were the bottom of the league last year, not respected by anyone.”
During the summer, Brown and other teammates decided to attend a basketball tournament in Cabo, Mexico. Training for about 20 days together, the men had “time to play basketball and enjoy each other,” Brown said. During the Cabo tournament, the Loggers played professional Mexican basketball teams. This experience “helped turn scores around” and progress the men, “pushing each other” on the court, Brown said.
“We went really far as far as mentality this year,” Brown said. “The team got to know each other… It’s all about believing in each other.”
If the Loggers win the Northwest Conference, they will have the opportunity to compete at a national level in a tournament.
“I’m proud of the guys for coming together for one common goal and sacrificing a lot for each other and noticing the cause is bigger than one solid person. It’s nice to reap the benefits now,” Brown said.
This season, the Logger men have played 16 conference games, scoring 1,114 points overall and 71.5 points on average per game, 22.5 of which are field goals made. They have made 11.5 off rebounds, 16.6 three pointers, 4.9 steals and 20.3 personal fouls per game on average. The men score 30.9 percent of three pointers and 41.3 percent of field goals per game.
In comparison, the Loggers opponents’ field goal average is 38.4 percent while their three pointer percentage is 29.4 percent per game on average.