PARKLAND – Pacific Lutheran battled back from a double-digit deficit early in the second half but could not finish the job on Saturday night as the visiting Lewis & Clark Pioneers held on for a hard-fought 55-50 Northwest Conference men's basketball win in Olson Auditorium.
With the victory, the Pioneers improve to 16-9 overall and to 10-6 in the conference, good for a berth in NWC postseason play. For the Lutes, the season comes to an end with an 8-17 overall record, including a 6-10 mark in the conference.
Both teams played intense defense throughout the opening half, and in fact the entire game, and at the intermission Lewis & Clark held a 26-18 lead. The Pios limited the Lutes to 8-for-25 shooting, or 32 percent, over that span.
Meanwhile, the one player who didn't have trouble finding the range was Lewis & Clark all-conference senior James Hollins, who buried four three-pointers on the way to 16 first half points.
Pacific Lutheran opened up a 12-7 lead on Cameron Schilling's three-point basket with 12:37 left in the half, but Hollins answered on the other end just 15 seconds later. Trailing 14-10, the Pioneers scored eight unanswered points, including a pair of layins by Connor Freeberg, and they held the lead through the remainder of the period.
When Terrell Williams hit a layin to cut PLU's deficit to 18-16, he ended a 7 ½ minute scoreless period for the Lutes.
The visitors scored the first four points of the second half on a Ross Erickson layup and two Dexter Pearce free throws to take a 30-18 advantage, but the Lutes got their deficit back under double digits. They made it a four-point game at 33-29 on a three by Cameron Schilling, and on five occasions they were able to get within three points. When Cameron Reister hit a long three, the score was 53-50 in favor of the Pioneers with 1:19 to play.
Lewis & Clark had a chance to ice the game at the foul line inside the final minute but made just two of its six attempts. Hollins made both of those, one with 36 left and the next one 10 seconds later, and that made the score 55-50. The Lutes missed a jumper and a three-point attempt in the final 20 seconds and the Pioneers had the win.
Drew Earnest led the Lutes with 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and he also paced the team with four assists. Schilling added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds. Those two seniors, along with Reister, who finished with six points, were honored prior to the start of the game.
The Lutes shot 41 percent (21-for-51) from the floor overall and they were 44 percent (7-for-16) from beyond the three-point line. They only got to the foul line three times, however, against the aggressive Lewis & Clark defense.
Hollins led all players with 25 points, hitting 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, and he led his team with eight rebounds. The Pioneers shot 48 percent (20-for-42) overall and had 14 assists on their 20 baskets.
- PLU -
