SPOKANE, Wash. – A strong effort from the Puget Sound men's basketball team came up short in the Northwest Conference final as it fell 86-71 to top-seeded Whitworth. The Loggers (20-7) received 41 points from their bench, led by 19 points from Rex Holmes.

The second-seeded Loggers were playing in their third NWC Final in five years. Their 20-7 overall record in 2011-12 is the second-best in Justin Lunt's six-year tenure as head coach.

Ryan Rogers hit the game's first points on the first possession for the Loggers. However, Idris Lasisi hit a three-pointer for Whitworth on the other end of the floor to grab the 3-2 lead. Lasisi led six Pirates in double figures with 19 points.

The Pirate lead reached as much as nine early as another Lasisi bucket pushed the score to 15-6 at the 12:57 mark of the first half. Rex Holmes responded 10 seconds later for the Loggers and sparked an 8-2 run that saw the lead dwindle to three points.

Holmes led four Loggers in double figures with 19 points off the bench. Riggs Yarbro and Derek Jobe also tallied double digits off the bench with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

With 6:43 left in the opening half, Kaleb Shelton-Johnson drained a three-pointer to momentarily regain the lead for the Loggers at 24-23. Shelton-Johnson finished with 14 points. The Pirates regained the lead on another three from Lasisi and never trailed again.

Over the final three minutes, the Pirates went on a 14-2 run that opened their lead to 15 points. Another three from Holmes with 11 seconds left cut the lead to 46-34 at the half.

Whitworth maintained their double digit lead throughout the second half behind 60 percent shooting from the floor and 54.5 percent shooting behind the three-point line. The Pirates were 13-of-28 behind the arc for the game.

The Loggers also had a strong shooting night, shooting 48.2 percent on the night and connecting on nine of their 22 three-point attempts.

Last week, the Loggers were ranked eighth in West Region and defeated ninth-ranked Whitman earlier this week.

The NCAA will announce its bracket for the NCAA Tournament on Monday at 9 a.m. (PT) with the Loggers hoping to cash in an outside chance for an at-large bid.