Loggers Drop NWC Home Opener To Rival Lutes, 96-81

TACOMA, Wash. - Five Puget Sound Loggers scored in double-digits but it wasn't enough to prevent the Pacific Lutheran Lutes from taking a 96-81 win in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Wednesday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

Following an opening three-pointer from Puget Sound sophomore David Aberg (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt), the Pacific Lutheran Lutes began to build a lead, holding a seven-point advantage with 11:21 left in the opening period.  An 8-0 run by the Loggers put them back on top following a three-pointer by Kaleb Shelton (Tacoma, Wash./Lincoln).  The two teams continued to battle throughout the first half, trading the lead a total of 14 times in the first 20 minutes as the Loggers took a 48-41 lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, Bryce Levin (Everett, Wash.) hit a three-pointer that put the Loggers up by 10 points but the Lutes slowly began to creep back, retaking the lead on a pair of free throws by Cameron Reister with 12:06 left to play.  The Lutes continued to build the lead as the Loggers couldn't get their second-half shots to fall.  Pacific Lutheran pushed the lead into double-digits with 8:47 left to play and the Loggers just weren't able to overcome the 53.1% second half shooting from the Lutes as PLU collected the 96-81 victory.

Puget Sound was led by 17 points from senior Austin Boyce (Kent, Wash./Kentwood), who also added six rebounds and eight assists to go with three blocks and three steals.  Freshman Gabe Borboa (Northridge, Calif./Crespi Carmelite) and senior Colin Koach (Portland, Ore./Franklin) each added 12 points while Shelton came off the bench to score 11 points and bring down nine rebounds.  Aberg also finished in double-digits, scoring ten points and assisting on four other baskets.

Pacific Lutheran was led by 24 points from Kyle MacTaggart.  Curtis Trondsen came off the bench to score 14 points while Gabe Smith and Victor Bull each added 13 points in the win. Cameron Schilling added 11 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds.  The win for the Lutes broke a 13-game losing streak to the Loggers, dating back to a 49-46 PLU victory during the 2002-03 season.

The Loggers return to action on Friday night when they take on Willamette, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.