PARKLAND – A back-and-forth game went down to the wire, but Pacific converted a layup and foul shot with less than three seconds remaining as the Boxers knocked off Pacific Lutheran 54-51 in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Friday at Names Family Court.
Both teams struggled to find consistent offense in the first half, as each squad went into the break with identical 29.6 percent shooting figures (8-of-27), but Pacific shot an even 50 percent in the second period (13-of-26) to improve to 14-8 overall and 7-6 in the NWC. Pacific Lutheran shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) to finish the night at 35.8 overall (19-of-53) and fall to 7-16 overall and 4-10 in conference play. The Lutes wrap up the 2013-14 season next weekend on the road, taking on Willamette on Friday and Linfield in Saturday's season finale.
The Lutes honored seniors Johnny Tveter, Kai Hoyt and Arvid Isaksen prior to the game, and all three started their final home contest in a PLU uniform. Hoyt finished a strong night 5-of-8 shooting for 10 points and added eight rebounds, while Isaksen scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. Tveter finished the night with six points.
Brandon Lester scored a team-high 11 points for PLU on the strength of three buckets from three-point range. Landon Littlefield led Pacific with 13 points, while Mitch Wettig tallied 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds as PLU finished the night with a 41-29 advantage on the boards.
The game featured 10 tie scores and 11 lead changes, with most of those coming in the first half as neither team led by more than two points in the first 20 minutes. After going into the break tied up at 22-22, the Lutes scored the first points of the second period on a Bryce Miller layup and proceeded to lead for nearly all of the next 17 minutes.
PLU's largest lead came at 43-37 with 9:07 left to play after a three-pointer by Lester and a pair of free throws by Terrell Williams gave the Lutes five straight points. Wettig responded with a three for Pacific on the Boxers' next possession, and a few minutes later a trey by Eric Moore tied it up at 45-45.
The teams exchanged points for the next four minutes before the final tie at 51-51 with 2:04 to play. A pair of PLU three-point attempts missed in the final two minutes of play, and Pacific had a chance to score the final points when the Boxers rebounded a PLU miss with 18 seconds remaining. Littlefield found his way into the lane for a layup with 2.6 seconds on the clock, and a PLU foul set up an and-one for the Boxers.
The Boxers snagged PLU's long inbound pass attempt, but the Lutes fouled to send Wettig to the charity stripe with just under two seconds to go. Wettig missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Isaksen snagged the rebound for PLU, but the Lutes were unable to get the ball down the court for a buzzer-beating shot attempt.
