PARKLAND – Whitman's offense made 56.3 percent of its shots in the first half to build a big halftime lead as the Missionaries took down Pacific Lutheran with a 71-57 Northwest Conference men's basketball win Friday night at Names Family Court.
While Pacific Lutheran (7-13 overall, 4-7 NWC) struggled to find its shooting touch early (8-of-24 in the first half), Whitman made 18 of its 32 shot attempts before the break to take a 46-25 lead into the locker room. The PLU defense stepped up in the second half to limit Whitman (14-6 overall, 9-2 NWC) to 36.4 percent shooting (8-of-22), but the Lutes made only 10 of their 31 second-half shot attempts to finish the night at 32.7 percent (18-of-55).
Brandon Lester continued his recent three-point barrage with his sixth straight game of at least two made three-pointers. After hitting six of his nine attempts from long-range on Friday, the freshman guard has now made 26 of his last 43 three-pointers (60.4 percent) since Jan. 18. He has averaged 17.2 points per game during that stretch, with Friday giving him his second 20-point performance of the season after tying his career-high mark with six made three-pointers.
Arvid Isaksen scored 13 points to give the Lutes a pair of double-digit scorers. Jackson Clough finished 7-of-10 from the field to lead Whitman with 18 points, while Ben Eisenhardt scored 15 and Matt Mounier added 12.
The opening minutes saw the teams exchange points, as PLU used five made free throws to take a 7-6 lead less than three minutes into the game. Evan Martin knocked down a jumper to put Whitman on top, and the Missionaries never trailed for the rest of the game. A 14-2 WC run put the visitors up 27-11 midway through the opening period, and the Missionaries closed the half on an 11-2 run to build a 21-point halftime lead on the strength of 26 points in the paint.
Pacific Lutheran made a brief run early in the second half, scoring six straight points to make it a 14-point game at 50-36. Whitman countered and eventually pushed its lead to a game-high 23 points with eight minutes remaining. The Lutes made one more run, as a trio of free throws set up back-to-back three-pointers by Lester and Erik Swartout to again pull the hosts to within 14. But Keenan Durham responded with a trey for the Missionaries, and it wasn't until the final minutes that another three by Lester brought the PLU deficit down to 13 – its smallest of the half. A Peter French free throw picked up the final point for Whitman, and the Missionaries ran out the clock for the 14-point road win.
Whitman visits Puget Sound in its next contest, while Pacific Lutheran hosts No. 21 Whitworth on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. as the Lutes will look to take down the conference-leading Pirates at Names Family Court.
