FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Pacific Lutheran nearly overcame a 13-point deficit in the final six minutes of play, but Pacific held off the Lutes to claim a 72-69 win in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Saturday night at Stoller Center.

Pacific Lutheran falls to 4-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play, while Pacific improves to 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the NWC. Next up for the Lutes will be a pair of home games next weekend, as PLU hosts Linfield on Jan. 24 and Willamette on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. each night.

The Lutes shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the second half to finish the game at 50.9 percent overall (27-of-53). Bryce Miller led PLU with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Terrell Williams and Brandon Lester each tallied 13 points, and Kai Hoyt added 12 points in the narrow loss.

Pacific nearly matched PLU's second-half shooting, going 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) after the break to finish at 48.1 percent overall (25-of-52). Daniel Zitani scored a game-high 25 points, while Mitch Wettig finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Both teams protected the ball throughout the contest, combining for 12 total turnovers to go against 30 assists.

Seth Anderson put PLU up in the first minute of play, but Coby Proctor hit a three-pointer on Pacific's first possession to put the Boxers up 3-2. Williams responded with a three-pointer to give PLU its final lead of the game, before a Zitani trey put Pacific back on top.

The Boxers stretched their lead to as many as eight points before halftime, going into the break with a 34-27 advantage. Pacific Lutheran hung between five and 11 points back for the first 13 minutes of the second half before a Zitani jumper gave the hosts their largest lead of the game at 63-50 with 6:09 to play.

Miller began the comeback with two free throws and a jumper for the Lutes, and following a Budweiser Hawkins bucket Lester dropped back-to-back threes to pull PLU within five at 65-60 with three minutes to go. It took until the final minute before an Arvid Isaksen layup made it a one-possession game at 67-64, but Eric Moore responded with a three to push the lead back to six with 23 seconds remaining. Lester made a three-pointer for PLU to again bring the Lutes within one possession, but Riley Grandinetti made both free throws with nine seconds remaining to seal the win.