TACOMA, Washington – The Puget Sound men's basketball team nearly overcame a 12-point deficit with less than five minutes left in regulation, but the Loggers ultimately fell to Pacific Lutheran, 72-68, in Memorial Fieldhouse Tuesday night.
 
The Loggers (7-9, 2-5 NWC) were down 59-47 with 4:42 left on the clock in the second half. Momentum shifted in Puget Sound's favor when Taj Phillips came up with a steal that led to a fast-break dunk for Mussie Teclemariam. Just over one minute later, Phillips drilled a 3-pointer that brought the Loggers to within 61-52.
 
The Lutes (10-5, 5-1 NWC) and Loggers traded buckets before Puget Sound got a defensive stop. On the other end, CJ Geathers hit a driving layup to make it a 63-56 game, forcing PLU to call a timeout with just over two minutes on the clock.
 
Coming out of the timeout, the Lutes turned the ball over and Paul Johnson made them pay by hitting a layup to cut the deficit to 65-60 with one minute remaining. However, PLU shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute of the game, thwarting Puget Sound's comeback bid.
 
Geathers scored 14 points and came up with five steals for the Loggers. Cal Hansen scored a team-high 15 points, and Phillips netted 10 points to go with six assists. After struggling for most of the game, Johnson finished with 13 points – 12 of which came in the final three minutes of the second half.
 
Puget Sound next hosts Pacific Friday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m.