FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Overcoming a cold start, the Puget Sound Loggers warmed up quickly as they held off the Pacific Boxers, 77-69, in a Northwest Conference men’s basketball game on Friday night in Forest Grove, Ore.

In the first half, it took a bit for the Loggers to get warmed up as Pacific held the maroon and white scoreless for nearly five minutes as the Boxers took an 8-0 lead. The Loggers finally got on the scoreboard with 15:21 left in the half on a layup by sophomore David Aberg (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt).

The Loggers took the lead with 10:15 left to go on a basket by Austin Boyce (Kent, Wash./Kentwood). Puget Sound continued to pile it out, taking a double-digit lead with 2:38 left in the first half on a jumper by Kaleb Shelton (Tacoma, Wash./Lincoln) and a three-pointer at the buzzer by Boyce gave Puget Sound a 42-29 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Loggers continued to build on the lead, going ahead by as many as 18 points with 16:32 left to play but the Boxers didn’t give up. Pacific was able to get the Puget Sound lead back into double-digits with just under 10 minutes to play but just as soon as it looked like Pacific would sneak back in the Loggers found a way to slam the door as they collected the 77-69 victory.

The Loggers were led by 22 points from Boyce, who also added nine rebounds in the win. Nadav Heyman (Corvallis, Ore.) went for 16 points while Aberg, Bryce Levin (Everett, Wash.) and Shelton each ended up with 10 points for the Loggers.

Pacific was led by 22 points and 11 rebounds from LeMar Anglin. Ross Bartlett added 16 points and 12 rebounds while Jonathan Jury chipped in 10 points in the losing effort.

The Loggers will wrap up the first half of conference play on Saturday night when they travel to take on Lewis & Clark. Tip with the Pioneers is set for 8:00 p.m. at Pamplin Athletic Complex in Portland, Ore.