TACOMA, Wash. - Sophomore Kaleb Shelton (Tacoma, Wash./Lincoln) dropped 20 points as the 18th-ranked Puget Sound Loggers got their first win of the young season over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, 94-79, in a non-conference men's basketball game on Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

In the opening minutes, the Slugs (0-2) held a narrow lead over the host Loggers (1-1) but Puget Sound's high pressure offense quickly took the advantage and built a seven-point lead, 16-9, with 13:46 left to play in the opening period.  The Logger lead hit double-digits with 3:12 left to play in the first half when Austin Boyce (Kent, Wash./Kentwood) hit a three-pointer to put Puget Sound up by 11.  Santa Cruz chipped away at the lead, bringing it down to six at halftime, 45-39.

In the second half, the Loggers quickly got the lead back into double-digits and held it this time around.  The advantage hit 20 with 11:06 left to play on the first of two made free throws by freshman Riggs Yarbro (Moses Lake, Wash./Moses Lake Christian) that put the Loggers up, 71-51.  The largest lead came with 7:40 left to play when Nadav Heyman (Corvallis, Ore.) hit a jumper in the paint to give Puget sound a 26 point lead.

The Slugs eventually pushed the lead back down into the teens but the 18th-ranked Loggers were too much to overcome as Puget Sound picked up the 94-79 victory.  The Loggers held a 17-12 advantage on points off turnovers and 11 of their points came following offensive rebounds.  Puget Sound cleaned up the glass well, outrebounding UCSC by a tally of 44 to 35.

Puget Sound was led by the 20 points from Shelton, who also added seven rebounds.  Colin Koach (Portland, Ore./Franklin) added 18 points to go with five assists and three steals while Boyce and Heyman finished with 16 and 15 points respectively.  The Loggers struggled a bit shooting the ball, making just 39.7% of their attempts, but they were able to stay strong defensively, forcing 27 turnovers to collect the win.

UC Santa Cruz was led by 21 points from Ryan Matsuoka.  Darren Lew chipped in 10 points while Niel Brennen and Ted Monson led the team with five rebounds each. 

The Loggers will face their toughest test of the weekend on Saturday night when they take on 10th-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.