TACOMA, Washington – With a five-game winning streak in its back pocket, the Puget Sound men's basketball team returns to Oregon for Northwest Conference games at Pacific (Jan. 13) and Linfield (Feb. 14).
 
Inside the streak
Puget Sound's current winning streak started at home, Dec. 17, with an 81-67 win over Millsaps. Since then, Puget Sound pulled off a one-point win over Gustavus Adolphus (Dec. 28), and followed that with dominant wins over Portland Bible (Jan. 2), George Fox (Jan. 6), and Willamette (Jan. 7).
 
High scoring
The Loggers' 107-99 win at George Fox marked the program's most points in a game since Jan. 2018, when Puget Sound put up 109 points against Whitman. Both games were in regulation.
 
What can't he do
Taj Phillips was named Puget Sound's Logger of the Week following their wins at George Fox and Willamette. Phillips notched his third double-double of the season (15 points, 11 rebounds) and matched his career-high in boards at George Fox. The following day at Willamette, Phillips flirted with a triple-double and matched his career-high in assists with a stat line of 18 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Phillips is also 7-for-8 in 3-point attempts through the past three games.
 
Grantland
Grant Erickson picked up his second double-double of the season at Willamette (Jan. 7), scoring a season-high 18 points to go with 11 rebounds. Erickson is Puget Sound's leading rebounder (6.4), and he ranks fourth in the NWC.
 
Baker heating up
Freshman Dezman Baker has earned 20+ minutes in three of last four games. During that four-game stretch, Baker is averaging 10.3 points and shooting 58.0-percent from the floor.
 
Forever green light
Liam Ruttledge is shooting 42.3-percent from 3-point range this season, and his 33 makes from distance ranks fifth in the NWC.
 
Scouting Pacific (7-6, 2-2 NWC)
The Boxers lost both of their NWC games last week against Whitman and Whitworth, but Pacific began its conference season with wins over Lewis & Clark and Linfield. Lucas Winkler distributes the ball well and leads the NWC in assists (7.2). Truman Young is the team's leading scorer with 14.0 points per game, despite coming off the bench in 11 of his 13 games. Jacob Bolger (11.8) and Jared Catell (10.3) also average double-digits in scoring.
 
Scouting Linfield (5-7, 2-2 NWC)
The Wildcats enter this weekend with four losses in their last five games, including an overtime loss against Willamette (Jan. 3). Linfield barely beat Pacific Lutheran, 61-60, last week (Jan. 6). Linfield's 72.3 points per game ranks second to last in the NWC, as does its field-goal percentage (43.4-percent) and 3-point percentage (34.5-percent). Trey Bryant is the team's leading scorer (14.2), followed by Carson Bonine (10.8). Bryant averages 6.3 rebonds per game.