SALEM, Ore. – Pacific Lutheran saw a 14-point second-half lead disappear before catching fire in overtime to put Willamette away 77-71 in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Friday night at Cone Field House.
The win improved Pacific Lutheran's record to 8-16 overall and 5-10 in conference play going into Saturday's season finale at Linfield. Willamette falls to 3-21 overall and 1-14 in the NWC.
Pacific Lutheran hit five of six shot attempts in the overtime period to claim the victory. The teams exchanged points for the first three minutes of the extra period, leaving the game tied at 71-71 with 1:33 to play. From that point it was all Lutes, as Arvid Isaksen and Seth Anderson hit consecutive jumpers, and Kai Hoyt and Terrell Williams added free throws in the final 25 seconds to close out the six-point win.
Midway through the second half it looked like the Lutes might pull away to an easier win. After a close first half ended with PLU leading 32-27, the visitors built a 14-point lead with 11:52 remaining in regulation.
The Bearcats rallied back on the strength of four three-pointers in the next five minutes, outscoring PLU 18-4 to tie it up at 54-54 with 4:39 to go. Willamette continued the run by scoring the next three points to take its first lead since late in the first half. Both teams hung close for the rest of regulation, with a Brandon Lester three-pointer putting PLU up two in the final minute before Alex Brown's jumper with 31 seconds on the clock tied it up at 63-63 and sent it to overtime.
Lester tied a career-high point total with 22 on the strength of 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, while Seth Anderson had a career night of his own with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds in 39 minutes of court time. Arvid Isaksen added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Bryce Miller tallied six points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Alex Hansen made five three-pointers en route to a team-best 19 points for Willamette. Alex Brown scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Avery Manu added 16 points. The Lutes finished the night with a 45.5 percent shooting mark (25-of-55), while Willamette ended up at 36.1 percent (22-of-61).
