TACOMA, Wash. - Winning their 19th straight game to extend their school record, the third-ranked Puget Sound Loggers advanced to the Northwest Conference men's basketball tournament final with a 86-74 win over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers on Thursday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

It didn't take long for the Loggers to pull ahead as they had already put nine points on the board to have a seven-point lead less than two minutes into the contest. The Pioneers found their stride shortly after, pulling even a few minutes later. A 10-0 run that lasted from the 7:58 mark to the 5:35 mark put the Loggers up by 14 points, 38-24. Puget Sound would keep the big lead over the remainder of the half, heading into the locker room with a 48-37 lead.

The Pioneers kept it interesting over the early parts of the second half as they were able to get back within three points at the 16:51 mark. The Logger lead hit double-digits again with 11:05 to play on a jumper in the paint by Austin Boyce (Kent, Wash./Kentwood). Lewis & Clark hit their threes to stay in it but the Loggers used some strong defensive plays to keep the lead and advance in the Northwest Conference tournament with the 86-74 victory.

The Loggers were led by 21 points from Jason Foster (Spanaway, Wash./Henry Foss). Boyce finished with 19 while Robert Krauel (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) chipped in 17 to go with a game-high eight rebounds. Antwan Williams (Portland, Ore./Madison) added 15 points to go with nine assists and seven steals.

Lewis & Clark was led by 25 points from David Berggren. Tyson Papenfuss added 19 points in the loss while Tyler Tsukazaki came off the bench to score 14 points, 12 of them coming from behind the arc.

The Loggers, who are ranked second in the latest NCAA West Region Rankings, will play host to Whitworth on Saturday for the NWC's automatic qualifier to the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. Tip-off with the Pirates is set for 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

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