TACOMA, Wash. - Walter Lum scored a game-high 19 points, Carlos Angel, Jr. and Jai Deshpande both added 14 more but it wasn't enough as the Whitman College men's basketball team closed the weekend with a 79-70 loss at Puget Sound in Northwest Conference action on Saturday night.

Cal Hansen scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for UPS who shot an impressive 53% from the field and dominated the Blues in points in the painted area (42-24). Paul Johnson added 14 points and five assists.

The Blues (2-4, 2-4 NWC) trailed early but managed not to let the game get away. Jourdan Joseph's layup with 13:44 remaining put UPS up 17-11, but back-to-back jumpers from Mamane Yaou helped cut the deficit to one point just over the midway point of the half. 

Back-to-back jumpers though from Hansen re-established a five-point lead with just over five minutes to play. Deshpande nailed a jumper at the 2:23 mark to even the score but it were the Loggers who carried a 35-34 lead into halftime.

The second half saw the UPS offense click to the tune of 44 points, 18 coming from bench scoring. The Blues just couldn't get their offense going and saw UPS go on a 15-2 run to open the half. The Loggers spread the scoring wealth and took a 50-36 lead with 12:28 to play.

Whitman certainly was not about to throw in the towel. Trailing by 12 points with 8:16 to play, back-to-back three pointers from Lum and Angel quickly shaved the UPS lead to single digits. Lum nailed another triple to make it a 59-53 game with 6:29 remaining in the contest.

The Blues continued to battle but UPS kept them at arms length and held on for the win. Xzavier Lino's three pointer cut the lead to seven points with 3:05 to play, but near perfect free throw shooting by UPS sealed the win down the stretch.

Whitman returns to the Sherwood Center next weekend for games against Whitworth on Friday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 27).