PORTLAND – Lewis & Clark scored 13 of the first 15 points and Pacific Lutheran's comeback attempt fell short in the second half as the Pioneers handed the Lutes a 63-56 Northwest Conference men's basketball defeat Saturday night at Pamplin Sports Center.
Pacific Lutheran falls to 3-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while Lewis & Clark improves to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the NWC. The Lutes will host Linfield and Willamette next weekend, with Friday's game against the Wildcats set to tip off at 8 p.m. and Saturday's contest against the Bearcats set for 6 p.m.
Brandon Lester scored a game-high 20 points on the strength of a perfect 8-of-8 free throw performance, while Dylan Foreman was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point range to score 16 points. Serg Ovchinnikov led Lewis & Clark with 18 points, while Jason Luhnow scored 13 and Cory Coombe added 10.
Lewis & Clark shot an even 50 percent from three-point range (11-of-22) to go with a 42.9 overall shooting percentage (18-of-42). Pacific Lutheran shot 38.3 percent overall (18-of-47) and made 7 of 15 shots from long range.
Coombe opened the night with a three-pointer for Lewis & Clark, and the Pioneers never relinquished the lead. Lewis & Clark stretched its lead to 11 points less than five minutes into play at 13-2 following a three-pointer by Luhnow. The Pioneers pushed their lead to a game-high 14 points midway through the first period when a three-pointer by Ovchinnikov made it 24-10.
Pacific Lutheran used a nine-point streak to pull within five with less than four minutes remaining in the first half, and the Lutes trailed 33-28 going into the break. Lewis & Clark scored the first five points of the second half to push its lead back to double-digits, but the Lutes responded with six straight points to make it 38-34.
The Lutes nearly completed the comeback a couple minutes later when a three-pointer by Foreman made it 43-42 with 14:0-7 on the clock, but Lewis & Clark responded with consecutive threes by Ocvhinnikov and Coombe. A few minutes later the Lutes drew within two at 51-49, but after a pair of Luhnow free throws made it 56-51 with 4:20 to play the Pioneers never allowed the Lutes within three points the rest of the way.
