PARKLAND – Whitman rallied back to force overtime and made all seven of its free throws in the extra period to spoil Pacific Lutheran's Senior Night upset bid as the Missionaries pulled out the 88-80 Northwest Conference men's basketball win Saturday at Names Family Court.
Pacific Lutheran wraps up the 2014-15 season with an 8-17 overall record and a 6-10 conference mark. Whitman finishes the regular season second in the NWC with a 14-2 record, 20-5 overall, and the Missionaries will host a conference tournament semifinal game this week.
The Lutes made 50 percent of their shots in regulation (25-of-50), but shot only 2-of-10 in overtime as Whitman closed the night on a 12-2 run. Kyle Sawtell closed the year with a career-best 21 points to go with five rebounds. Brandon Lester and Terrell Williams each scored 11, and Kylan Foreman tallied 10 for the Lutes.
Christian McDonald and Matt Mounier tied atop the scoring column for Whitman with 23 points apiece. The teams combined for 54 fouls as the Missionaries shot 29-of-40 at the free throw line and the Lutes made 18 of 29 attempts at the charity stripe.
Free throws helped Whitman force overtime, as in the final minute of regulation the Missionaries made all four of their free throw attempts while PLU made only three of six attempts. The final two for Whitman came with five seconds remaining, as Tochi Oti made a pair to tie the score at 74-74. Whitman stole PLU's ensuing inbounds pass, but a shot at the buzzer missed and the game went to an extra period.
PLU reclaimed the lead in the first minute of overtime on a free throw, before a McDonald jumper gave Whitman its first advantage since early in the second period. Bryce Miller followed with a three-point play on a layup and a free throw to put PLU back up two at 78-76 with 2:36 to play, but Whitman scored the next 12 points – seven coming on free throws – to go up 10 before Sawtell's layup at the buzzer pushed PLU to 80 points.
Whitman built a six-point lead in the first seven minutes of the game, but five straight points by Dylan Foreman helped the Lutes tie it up at 11-11. With PLU holding a 26-24 advantage with 4:22 remaining in the first period, a Foreman jumper sparked an eight-point Lute run that gave the hosts their first 10-point advantage of the night at 34-24. Whitman scored the final five points of the half to go into the break down 34-29, and the Missionaries continued the streak by scoring the first seven points of the second period.
A 10-2 PLU run early in the second put the Lutes up 44-38, and the hosts stretched their lead to a game-high 11 points at 63-52 following a pair of Lester three-pointers with 7:44 on the clock. Whitman scored the next five points and whittled away at the PLU lead by making nine of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch in regulation.
The Lutes honored seniors Williams, Andrew Alness, Austen Trent Wilson and Kevin McCrossin prior to the game as the quartet suited up for the final time for PLU. All four started for the Lutes and combined to make eight of 17 shot attempts in their final game.
