Curtis Trondsen scored 24 points, Kyle MacTaggart added 17 and
Tony Polis dished out 10 assists as Pacific Lutheran defeated the
visiting Linfield Wildcats, 75-63, in a Northwest Conference men's
basketball game played Friday night in Olson Auditorium.
The win by the Lutes (8-8 overall) improved their
conference record to 6-3, good for third place in the standings,
one game behind Linfield (9-8 overall), now 7-2 in the conference
race. The Lutes also earned a measure of revenge for a 101-77 loss
at the Wildcats' hands in the conference opener on Jan. 2 in
McMinnville, Ore.
Trondsen, a junior wing from Shelton, came off the bench to
score a season-high point total in 27 minutes of action. He was
11-for-17 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the
three-point arc, and he also pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
MacTaggart was 7-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-4 from long
range, as the Lutes hot 54 percent (32-for-59) for the game. In
addition, the Lutes were 8-for-17 from three-point range (47
percent). Polis had double-digit assists while coming off the
bench, and Andrew Earnest tallied 12 points to support the win.
The game was close through most of the first half with four
ties and nine lead changes. The Lutes managed to take a 30-22 lead
with a little more than three minutes left in the half after
back-to-back baskets by Trondsen, but the Wildcats scored the last
nine points to take a 31-30 halftime lead. Jon Weber capped the run
with a 35-footer at the buzzer.
The first eight minutes of the final period featured a pair of
PLU spurts that led to six-point leads. The second time, however,
the Lutes were able to add on, eventually building their first
double-digit lead at 57-46 on MacTaggart's long bomb with 10
minutes remaining. Linfield never got closer than eight points the
rest of the way, and PLU led by as much as 17 points at 75-58 on
Trondsen's three-point basket with 1:07 left.
While the Wildcats had trouble finding an answer for Trondsen
and MacTaggart's scoring punch, the same could be said of PLU's
inability to stop K.C. Wiser. The Linfield post dominated
underneath the basket, using a variety of moves to score 24 points.
He was 9-for-13 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Linfield finished the game shooting 45 percent (21-for-47) from
the field, but it was just 31 percent (4-for-13) from beyond the
arc. Linfield did enjoy a clear advantage in rebounding, however,
pulling down 38 to just 23 for the Lutes.
PLU returns to conference action at 8 p.m. Saturday when it host
the Pacific Boxers in Olson Auditorium.
- PLU -
