TACOMA, Wash.—After a wild, high-scoring overtime thriller, the Loggers clinched a berth in the Northwest Conference tournament with a 115-112 victory over George Fox Friday at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

The Loggers found themselves up 91-83 with 1:03 remaining in regulation, but that quickly changed as the Bruins netted four three pointers in the final minute—the only four field goals attempted by George Fox in that stretch—to tie the game at 96 and force overtime. The Loggers hit five of six free throws during that stretch, but the Bruins' hot three-point shooting sent the game into overtime.

Dan Cheledinas opened scoring in the extra period, hitting a layup 28 seconds into overtime and getting fouled in the process. He drained the resulting free throw to complete the traditional three-point play. Rex Nelson and Nick Holden added field goals to give the Loggers a 101-98 lead, and with 1:26 remaining in the first overtime the Loggers saw a six-point advantage, their largest in the added period, thanks to another bucket by Holden and two more free throws from Cheledinas.

After the two teams swapped free throws, Bruins' three-point shooting kicked in again. Spencer made a three-pointer to pull within three at 107-104, but Matt Reid extended the lead back out to five with two freebies after getting sent to the line. Five seconds after Reid's free throws JJ Lacey netted a three-ball for the guests. The Loggers turned the ball over on the next possession, but Holden pulled down a key defensive rebound from a missed Bruin three-pointer and was fouled to stop the clock. Holden sank both freebies to give the Loggers a four-point lead. Cheledinas then came up with yet another defensive rebound and sank two more free throws after getting fouled to go up 113-107 with 20 seconds left. After two free throws from George Fox, Nelson was fouled and went to the line for two shots. He made both to ice the game, and not even another George Fox three-pointer could bring the Bruins back again. The Loggers prevailed 115-112.

"Kudos to George Fox, they played really well and they shot the ball really well," said Puget Sund head coach Justin Lunt. "We talked about it all game that we were going to dial in and make them take tough shots and I thought they made some tough shots. But also a great game from our guys in executing the game plan."

By scoring 115 points, the Puget Sound men's basketball team saw its best offensive output in six years, since scoring 118 in a 30-point victory over Simpson on Dec. 29, 2008. The Loggers shot 54.8% from the floor, making 34 buckets, and hit nine of 19 three pointers, a 47.7% clip. Additionally, they made 38 free throws on 53 attempts, both of which are the highest numbers in the last three years for the club. George Fox meanwhile shot 45.7% from the field and 46.7% from three-point range. The Bruins did make 21 three-pointers, however, tying a team record for three-pointers in a single game.

"The way we play offensively – sharing the ball, moving the ball – we're a really unselfish team, and that played into our hands tonight," said Erin Barber, who led all players with 26 points. "The way we progressed through the season we've been getting better and better and I think that showed."  

Despite the close game, the Loggers never trailed during the 65 minutes of action, and there were just three tie scores as well. They saw their biggest lead of the night with 11:04 remaining in the second half when Puget Sound enjoyed a 10-point advantage and went into the halftime break up by four at 43-39.

Four Loggers scored at least 20 points Friday night with Barber leading the way at 26. Nelson and Cheledinas both scored 25, while Holden added 22. Cheledinas' 25 set a new career high in points scored and Holden's 22 tied his best personal mark. Three Loggers tallied double-doubles on the night as Barber also led all players with 11 rebounds while both Nelson and Cheledinas added 10 each. Tonight marked both Barber's and Chelidinas' second double-doubles of the season while Nelson tallied his sixth of 2013-14.

With the win, Puget Sound (14-10, 10-5 NWC) clinched third place in the Northwest Conference and a berth in the conference tournament. Whitworth is in first place with a 14-2 mark in conference play while Whitman has hold of second at 11-4. Whitman, having beat Puget Sound twice in conference play, owns the tie-breaker over the Loggers. Puget Sound is solidly in third place, however, as only one other team can reach 10 wins. That's Lewis & Clark at 9-6 in NWC action, and the Loggers own that tiebreaker by virtue of their season sweep of the Pioneers.

The Loggers wrap up their regular season Saturday, Feb. 22 with an 8:00 p.m. game against Pacific. As that game will be the final home game of the regular season, the Puget Sound men's basketball program will honor its four seniors for their commitment and dedication to the program. Those four seniors are Cheledinas, Nelson, AJ Maw, and Philip Thomas. The senior ceremony will begin shortly before the game against the Boxers at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma.