COMING UP: Pacific Lutheran at Linfield, Saturday, Jan. 2, 6 p.m.; PLU at Pacific, Sunday, Jan. 3, 6 p.m.; PLU at Puget Sound, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 8 p.m.

LUTES OPEN CONFERENCE SLATE: With the non-conference season in the rear view mirror, Pacific Lutheran turns its attention to the Northwest Conference season, which gets underway this coming weekend with a pair of games in Oregon. The Lutes will open their NWC slate on Saturday against the host Linfield Wildcats in McMinnville, and the following evening they will battle the Pacific Boxers in Forest Grove. Both contests are scheduled for a 6 p.m. tipoff. Next Wednesday, the Lutes head across Tacoma to face the defending conference champion Puget Sound Loggers. That game will get underway at 8 p.m.

NON-CONFERENCE SUMMARY: Pacific Lutheran heads into 2010 with a 2-5 overall record, which does not include a 79-73 victory against Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C., on Tuesday night. There is still question as to whether or not that game counts on the PLU record, or if it will be considered an exhibition contest. The Lutes played a difficult non-conference schedule and found the going tough, losing four straight to Concordia, Evergreen State, Ripon (Wisconsin) and Wisconsin-Platteville. They got their first win of the season at Northwest Christian and came back a week later to rally for a home victory over Northwest University. The official pre-conference schedule came to a close with a loss to NCAA Division II Saint Martin's. Through the seven games, four players are averaging double figures for PLU. Kyle MacTaggart paces the team with an average of 11.9 points per games, followed by Victor Bull at 11.1, James Conti at 10.7 and Curtis Trondsen at 10.3 Bull leads the team with an average of 5.3 rebounds per game and Conti contributes just under four assists per contest. Freshmen Cameron Schilling and Andrew Earnest have both started four games, while Conti, MacTaggart and Bull have started all seven contests. The Lutes have been outscored by an average of 5.5 points per contest, and other than a 79-58 loss to Saint Martin's have been in a position late in each game to pull out a victory. That is a positive on which head coach Steve Dickerson can build heading into the conference season.

CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL: Pacific Lutheran is out to prove the conference coaches wrong after the Lutes were picked to finish at the bottom of the NWC standings in the preseason poll. Linfield was picked to finish third and Pacific was selected in a fifth-place tie with Whitman.

ABOUT LINFIELD: The Wildcats are 2-6 entering conference play, including an 11-point loss at Northwest Christian and a 20-point loss at Northwest University, the only teams that the Lutes have defeated this season. Point guard Cody Tesoro leads the Wildcats with an average of 17.9 points per game. Center K.C. Wiser, one of the NWC's best big men, averages 10 points and seven rebounds but a bad back has limited him to just two games this season. The Lutes and 'Cats have faced each other nine times (including a non-conference game) over the past four season, Linfield winning six of those, including both games last year (69-54 in Parkland and 96-67 in McMinnville).

ABOUT PACIFIC: The Boxers have gotten strong play from big man Ross Bartlett, who averages 15.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Pacific is 4-5 through non-conference play. The Boxers are an outstanding rebounding team, averaging 43.9 boards per game to just 35.0 for their opponents. LeMar Anglin contributes 14.2 points per contest and Jonathan Jury chips in an average of 11.8 per contest. The Lutes and Boxers split last year, PLU winning 73-64 at home and Pacific doing the same by a 94-82 count. Over the past four years, Pacific has won five of the eight games between the two schools.

PLU DIALS UP LONG-DISTANCE WIN OVER SIMON FRASER: Pacific Lutheran scorched the nets at a 46 percent rate from three-point range in defeating host Simon Fraser, 79-72, in an exhibition men's basketball game Tuesday night in Burnaby, B.C. The Lutes hit 10-of-23 three-point attempts while SFU struggled from beyond the arc, making just 29 percent of their long-range shots. Junior wing Kyle MacTaggart hit 4-of-7 from three-point range and knocked down all seven of his free throws to lead the Lutes with 23 points. He also contributed seven rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes of action. PLU raced out to a 17-7 lead about eight minutes into the game and never trailed in the opening half, eventually settling for a 37-33 advantage at the break. That advantage was short lived, however, as the Lutes utilized a 17-5 run to regain the lead. SFU pulled to within one, 67-66, following a Kevin Pribilsky layup, but the Lutes responded with an 8-0 run to put the game away. Andrew Earnest started the burst with a three-point shot and MacTaggart added to it with four consecutive free throws. Earnest finished with 15 points, James Conti chipped in 13 points and five assists, and Curtis Trondsen added 10 points for the winners. PLU shot 43 percent (26-of-61) from the field and 81 percent (17-of-21) from the foul line for the game. The Lutes also enjoyed a 40-38 rebounding edge.

SAINTS SAIL PAST LUTES: Sophomore Blake Poole muscled his way to 21 points and 19 rebounds as the host Saint Martin's Saints swept away PLU, 79-58, in a non-conference men's basketball game played Dec. 21 in Lacey. Poole used his massive 6-5, 265-pound frame to dominate the Lutes in the low post, hitting 9-for-11 from the field and adding 3-for-4 from the foul line for his game-high 21 points. Of his 19 rebounds, 17 came on the defensive end for the Saints, now 8-1 this season. Sophomore point guard James Conti had another strong game for the Lutes with 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also added six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Junior wing Kyle MacTaggart was the only other PLU player in double figures, tallying 13 points. He tied Conti for team-high rebounding honors with five.

COACH DICKERSON FEATURED IN ARTICLE: Steve Dickerson cut his coaching teeth in the inner city of Columbus, Ohio, leading his Linden High School team to the state title game. Now the fourth-year head coach at Pacific Lutheran, Dickerson is featured in this story in The Columbus Dispatch newspaper.

LISTEN TO THE LUTES: You can listen to most PLU men's basketball games on KLAY 1180 AM in the Tacoma area and also at www.klay1180.com. Long-time announcer Bob Robertson returns to call the action for the Lutes. Please note, however, that the weekend games against Linfield and Pacific will not be broadcast on KLAY. The game at UPS will, however, be broadcast on KLAY. The PLU athletic department offers an alternative through Stretch Internet (http://www.golutes.com/information/listenlive). Nick Caraballo will call the action of one of the two games, though which game is still to be decided.

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