Pioneer men drop crucial game against Willamette

In a season where the Northwest Conference has beat up on each other, the 7-5 Pioneers men’s basketball team still had an excellent opportunity last Saturday to move into position for a postseason berth. An opportunity they could not capitalize on.

Before Saturday’s game, the Pioneer men had plenty of momentum after crushing George Fox 90-48 on Friday night. That game was marked by outstanding shooting – including three consecutive three-pointers from Gene Rivera (’08) – and dominant rebounding. It did not matter that the team they were facing was George Fox; there was not a team in the league that would have defeated the Pios that night. Team morale was also high, as every Pioneer saw playing time and contributed in some manner.

So entering Saturday’s game, the Pios had everything going for them. Playing against Willamette, however, the team they were tied with in third place, the Pios looked as they have all season; like Jekyll and Hyde. After being up by as many as 14 in the first half, the Pios played an uninspiring second half, eventually falling by a score of 82-77.

Consider these numbers: In the first half the Pios shot 67% from the field and 62% from behind the arc. In the second half, they shot 40% from the field, 15% from three, and struggled from the free throw line. Yet somehow, they found themselves still in the game as seconds slowly ticked off the clock.

After a back and forth second half, Willamette took the lead with under nine minutes to play. One turnover and three misses later, the Pios found themselves down seven. A three by Gene Rivera (’08) got the Pios within four with five minutes left, but instead of getting badly needed stops, the Pios gave up back to back threes. Sensing their playoff hopes disappearing, the Pios employed a full-court press and forced several turnovers to get the game back down to three with two minutes left.

Missed one-and-one free throws for Willamette allowed the Pios to still have a shot at the win. But they could not capitalize. Down three with 1:43 left Nick Thierry (’08) traveled. Down three with 33 seconds left, Mark Robinowitz (’08) and Joey Toboni (’08) miscommunicated and an errant pass went out of bounds. Still down three in the waning seconds, Toboni missed a three that would have tied the game.

Despite the significance of the loss, the game was not without solid performances. Thomas Tillery (’08) scored 32 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed four rebounds. Toboni finished the night with 16 points, shooting 6-9 from the field, including 3-6 from beyond the arc.

With the loss, however, the Pios fall into a tie for fourth place with Linfield. Only the top three finishers in the Conference play in the NWC Tournament to play for the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Willamette takes sole possession of third place at 9-5. The loss to Willamette is the second of the season, falling 82-71 earlier in the year. Undoubtedly, the Pioneer men had their chances this year to give themselves a playoff slot, but inconsistency has doomed
the team that was expected to win the Northwest Conference coming into the year.

The Pios will face off at Puget Sound on February 22nd at 8 p.m., and then finish the season at Linfield on February 23. The Pios would need Willamette to lose both games – against Pacific and Puget Sound – coupled with a pair of LC victories in order to secure a postseason berth.