This was reminiscent of the good ol’ days of Puget Sound basketball.
Justin Lunt knows them well. He was an assistant for those Loggers men’s squads that went far in NCAA Division III tournaments, and was the coach when UPS became the first Northwest Conference school to post a 16-0 league season in 2008-09.
After two down seasons, the Loggers are back to being ranked (No. 22) and undefeated (7-0 overall, 2-0 NWC). They swept weekend conference play with a 73-59 victory over Willamette on Saturday night in Salem, Ore.
Lunt warns it is “too early” to think his program has returned to its glory days, but added he really likes the selfless manner of this group.
“We are playing together,” Lunt said. “No one cares about who scores, or even who is playing. Everyone wants to win.”
All the local schools will have almost a month off before NWC play resumes Jan. 6.
Four UPS players scored in double figures Saturday, led by Anthony Gittens’ 17 points.
After the Bearcats closed it to 19-14 on two Taylor Mounts’ free throws midway through the first half, the Loggers responded with a 6-0 run – highlighted by a Gittens’ dunk – to grab a 25-14 lead at the 7:20 mark.
Pacific Lutheran 76, at Linfield 68: Back-to-back 3-pointers by Andrew Earnest and Johnny Tveter fueled a key 8-0 run in the first half, helping the Lutes build a big lead in McMinnville, Ore.
The Tveter 3-pointer gave PLU (4-2, 2-0) a 35-27 lead at the 6:11 mark.
Earnest led the Lutes with 17 points. They shot 54 percent from the floor as a team (30 of 56).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
UPS 76, at Willamette 60: Two NWC road games, two victories.
The Loggers (5-2, 2-0) could not have asked for a better start to conference play as they never trailed in Salem.
Kelsey McKinnis led UPS with a season-high 23 points, and Lindsay Layland added 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in a balanced effort.
At Linfield 66, PLU 61: Gretchen Owens scored 28 points, including five in a row in the last 21/2 minutes that gave the Wildcats the lead for good – and a NWC victory in McMinnville.
Katelyn Smith broke a 58-58 tie with a jumper for PLU at the 3:02 mark, but Owens tallied the next five points to give Linfield a 63-60 lead.
Samantha Potter led the Lutes (3-2, 1-1) with 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting.
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