Teams are rarely going to beat the University of Puget Sound men’s basketball team on the inside.
George Fox knew that Saturday. The Bruins do not have the personnel to match up against the taller Loggers. But they have outside shooters – ones who barely missed in the team’s 86-80 Northwest Conference victory in Newberg, Ore.
Suddenly, 18th-ranked UPS (11-4 overall, 3-3 NWC) has lost three games in a row during an eight-day span.
George Fox (7-8, 4-2), which moved into a three-way tie for second place behind Whitworth, made four of its first five 3-pointers – three by Anthony Sanchez – to build a 16-9 lead in the first 5 minutes, 55 seconds.
And the Bruins kept it going, finishing the first half with seven made 3-pointers.
They eventually built a 21-point lead early in the second half before UPS battled back to cut it to 83-80 on Ryan Rogers’ lay-in with 26 seconds to go.
UPS fouled Sanchez, who wrapped it up by making both free throws with 10 seconds remaining.
Anthony Gittens led the Loggers with a career-high 29 points on 10-for-11 shooting from the floor. Rex Holmes added 16.
At Tacoma CC 71, Highline 68: Mark McLaughlin scored 36 points, including a 3-pointer with 2:35 to go to break a 62-62 tie, and the No. 6 Titans won their 25th consecutive NWAACC West Division game.
The Titans (12-3, 4-0) blew a 15-point lead in the first half.
Highline (3-11, 2-3) had a chance to tie the game late, but Tacoma’s Julian Vaughn took a charge with 22 seconds to go, preserving a 68-66 Titans’ lead.
“We did a great job of finishing the game in the last 21/2 minutes,” TCC coach Carl Howell said. “We need to keep maturing, but we showed some toughness down the stretch.”
Isaac Winston, a Lakes High grad, had 18 points for the Thunderbirds.
South Puget Sound 73, at Pierce 72: Scotty Ewing made a left-handed scoop shot around the basket with 10 seconds to go, and the Raiders missed two shots on their final possession in Lakewood.
The Clippers (5-9, 1-3) got their first divisional win of the season. Anye Turner led them with 26 points and 20 rebounds.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
At George Fox 75, UPS 59: Dacia Heckendorf’s 3-pointer ignited a 13-2 run midway through the first half that gave the No. 3 Bruins (15-0, 6-0 in NWC) the lead for good, and the Loggers (8-7, 4-2) fell into a tie for third place with a road defeat in Newberg.
UPS led, 16-15, when Heckendorf started the scoring spurt, which ended up giving the defending NWC champions a 28-18 lead with 6:18 remaining.
Hannah Munger led George Fox with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
At Tacoma CC 55, Highline 53: Sherelle Williams and Angelina Wagar-Sanchez made four key free throws inside the final minute, and the Titans (6-7, 3-1) rallied for their third victory in a row.
Wagar-Sanchez led all scorers with 25 points.
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