WALLA WALLA - Pacific Lutheran had hoped to move into a fourth-place tie in the Northwest Conference men's basketball standings when it played Whitman at the Sherwood Center on Friday night, but the hosts had a different idea in recording an 87-75 victory.

The loss dropped the Lutes' conference record to 6-7, one game out of the fourth-and-final postseason playoff spot currently held by 7-6 Lewis & Clark. Ahead for PLU is a Saturday afternoon game in Spokane against Whitworth, unbeaten in the conference, and a pair of home games next weekend against Willamette and George Fox.

The Missionaries forced 22 turnovers and crashed the glass for 16 offensive rebounds in defeating the Lutes. With five players scoring in double-digit scoring, Whitman improved to 5-8 in the Northwest Conference and 11-11 overall. The loss dropped the Lutes to 8-12 for the season.  

Freshmen Peter Clark and LuQuam Thompson paced Whitman's balanced attack with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Junior Justin Artis added 15 points and seven rebounds, sophomore Brandon Shaw just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, and freshman Drew Raher added 10 points and six boards.

Up 41-33 at intermission, Whitman opened the second half on an 8-2 roll to inflate its lead to 49-35. Sparked by Kyle MacTaggart, who led all scorers with 21 points, Pacific Lutheran kept the Missionaries within reach and was down by seven points, 72-65, with four minutes left. Clark answered with his fourth three-pointer of the night, kicking off a 6-0 mini-run that put Whitman safely in front.

Pacific Lutheran also got 12 points from Curtis Trondsen and 10 more from Zachary Klein. 

With the Lutes on top 12-11 six minutes into the game, Whitman took charge with a 12-0 run that included a Clark three-pointer and two hoops from Shaw. The Lutes rallied to within two points at 27-25 with five minutes left in the half, but the Missionaries pulled away again to lead by eight at the break. 

- PLU -