McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran knocked down seven three-point shots in the first half on the way to a 15-point halftime lead, and it cruised from there in beating host Linfield, 76-68, in Saturday night Northwest Conference men's basketball action.

The Lutes opened the conference schedule in fine fashion this weekend, winning a pair of road games in Oregon. They are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the NWC, while Linfield drops to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

PLU went deep with deadly accuracy in opening up a 48-33 lead by halftime. Drew Earnest hit a trio of three-point shots to lead the Lutes to 7-for-11 marksmanship from beyond the arc. Cameron Schilling, PLU's junior post, stepped out beyond the line to drain a pair of treys, and James Conti and Johnny Tveter each added a three-point basket to the total.

After the break, the Lutes worked time off the clock and took the ball inside, shooting 57 percent (12-for-21) from the field in the final half. They ended up hitting 54 percent of their shots (30-for-56) for the entire game, including 47 percent (8-for-17) from long range.

After trailing by 15 at halftime, the Wildcats didn't get their deficit under double digits until Matt Kalbfleisch knocked down a three-point shot for the game's final points.

Earnest led the Lutes with 17 points, making 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 5-10 point guard Conti continued his impressive senior year play with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Kai Hoyt finished the game with 12 points and three blocks, while Schilling had 10 points and four assists.

Linfield, which shot 47 percent from the field (26-for-55) was led by Zach Anderson with 17 points and Andrew Batiuk with 14.

PLU returns to non-conference action at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday when it travels to Kirkland to face Northwest University.

- PLU -