TACOMA, Washington – With a four-game winning streak and a Northwest Conference Tournament seeding on the line, the Puget Sound men's basketball men's basketball team has a Valentine's date with Pacific Lutheran in Parkland Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m.
 
They're in it
With its win over Pacific last Saturday (Feb. 11), the Loggers clinched a bid for the Northwest Conference Tournament. It is the program's first postseason berth since the 2017-18 season.  Puget Sound (10-4 NWC) is currently in second place in the conference, trailing only Whitman (12-2). Whitworth is 9-5 in the NWC, while Lewis & Clark and Linfield (both 7-7) fight for the No. 4 seed.
 
Big on the glass
Grant Erickson recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds in the Loggers' recent win over Pacific (Feb. 11). He came up one rebound shy of matching his career-high mark (vs. George Fox, Jan. 28, 2022). Erickson is averaging 6.7 rebounds this season, which is tied for third in the NWC.
 
Mussie muscle
Mussie Teclemariam is the Loggers' leading scorer this season with 14.0 points per game. He is also tied with Erickson for rebounding. Teclemariam has scored 10+ points in 15 consecutive games.
 
Going all out
Over his last three games, Taj Phillips is averaging 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. Overall this season, he is tied for second in the NWC for assists per game (5.0).
 
The streak has to end at some point
Puget Sound has lost nine consecutive games against PLU. The Loggers' last win against PLU was Jan. 22, 2019, in Parkland (83-61).
 
Scouting Pacific Lutheran (12-11, 6-8 NWC)
The Lutes have three losses in their last five games, but they are still mathematically in the hunt for the NWC Tournament. PLU has the second-lowest scoring offense in the NWC (75.8), but it ranks third in field-goal percentage (47.1-percent). The Lutes commit the second-most turnovers in the NWC (11.6). Five players average double-digits in scoring, led by Brandin Riedel's 14.5 scoring average. Sean McCurdy averages 13.3 points, and Sam Noland averages 13.0. Jordan Thomas (8.0) is the team's leading scorer.