Hsiung and Frank Lead Bearcats in Scoring in Loss to Lewis & Clark

Salem, Ore. - Men's Basketball dropped their conference opener to Lewis & Clark College by a score of 76-55.  Ryder Hsiung led all scorers with 19 for Willamette, followed by Josiah Frank with nine.  It was the second-lowest scoring output for the Bearcats who came into the game averaging just under eighty-nine points per contest.

Lewis & Clark jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and extended it to 10-3 right before the first media timeout, but Willamette battled back and tied the score at fourteen on a three-point jumper by Kahiau Bruhn at the 11:30 mark of the half.  Both teams exchanged baskets and the Bearcats took their first lead of the game at 20-19 thanks to a Kai Brown free throw.  A layup by Sebastian Deprez gave the Pioneers a 30-29 lead heading to the halftime break.

The Pioneers had a good start to the second half too and pushed their lead to 38-31 after a Jake Rodriguez layup.  A Deacon Perry layup pulled the Bearcats within two at 39-37 but that would be as close as Willamette could get for the rest of the contest.  A 12-2 run by Lewis & Clark over the next four minutes put the guests ahead 51-39 and they went on to close out the game, never letting the Bearcats closer than eight points the rest of the game.

Willamette shot its lowest percentage from the field, just under twenty-nine percent (20-70), but did hit on 10 of 11 free throws for the game.  The Pios outrebounded the Bearcats 55-44 and 14-10 on the offensive end. 

Brandin Dantzler came off the bench to lead Willamette in rebounds with eight, followed by Caleb Moore with six and a quartet of Bearcats with five.  Moore led the way with five assists while Kai Brown and Anujan Tennathur each contributed two. 

Willamette has the next week off as the players focus on final exams and will return to action at the University of Portland on Monday, December 16th.