PARKLAND - Pacific Lutheran struggled at the free throw line early and from all over the floor late as the visiting Whitworth Pirates pulled away to a 75-52 Northwest Conference victory Saturday night in Olson Auditorium.

The loss means the Lutes (6-7 overall, 4-2 Northwest Conference) will stay in third place in the Northwest Conference behind undefeated conference leaders Whitworth (13-2, 6-0) and Linfield.

Some hot three-point shooting for the Lutes kept them close for the first 15 minutes. Curtis Trondsen finished the half a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc to lead PLU. However, missed free throws - PLU made only one of six attempts from the charity stripe in the last five minutes of the first half - plagued the Lutes down the stretch as Whitworth pulled away with a 17-7 run. The Pirates went into halftime with a 50-36 lead.

After the break, the PLU offense never again found its rhythm. The Lutes shot only 19.2 percent (5-of-26) from the field in the second half and went 0-for-5 from three-point range as Whitworth pulled away to a 24-point lead with 8:40 left to play. PLU inched to within 20 on a couple of Kyle MacTaggart free throws at the six-minute mark, but the Lutes never got closer than that.

Nate Montgomery led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting for the Pirates, one of four Whitworth players to score in double figures. Trondsen finished with 18 points to lead the Lutes, who shot only 34.7 percent (17-of-49) for the game.

Bo Gregg's nine rebounds were the most of any player, with Victor Bull's seven leading the way for PLU.

The Lutes return to action Friday when they visit Willamette in a Northwest Conference game at 8 p.m.

- PLU -