PARKLAND – Dylan Foreman's layup put Pacific Lutheran back on top with 37 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Lutes made three free throws to close out the 55-51 Northwest Conference men's basketball victory over Lewis & Clark Friday night at Names Family Court.
The dramatic win snaps a string of six losses for the Lutes, who improve to 6-14 overall and 4-7 in conference play with the win. Lewis & Clark falls to 11-9 overall and 6-5 in the NWC. PLU host George Fox Saturday, with tipoff set for 6 p.m.
Brandon Lester led Pacific Lutheran with 14 points, while Kevin McCrossin made four of his seven three-point attempts to tally 12 points and Terrell Williams added 10. Austen Trent Wilson scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Foreman made the clutch layup in the final minute of overtime.
Serg Ovchinnikov scored a game-high 15 points and Cannen Roberson tallied 14 for Lewis & Clark. Jason Luhnow added 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Carl Appleton snagged 12 boards for the Pioneers.
Pacific Lutheran built a 10-point halftime lead on the strength of its shooting, as the Lutes hit 47.6 percent overall in the period (10-of-21) and made five of their seven three-point attempts. The Lutes scored the first two points of the second half to push their lead to a game-high 12 points at 30-18, but a layup by Appleton and five straight points by Luhnow pulled the Pioneers to five back at 30-25.
The Lutes worked their lead back up to 10 at 37-27 following McCrossin's fourth three-pointer of the night, but again the Pioneers responded as Roberson and Jonathan Boddie combined to score eight straight points to make it a one-possession game. Lewis & Clark finally tied it up at 40-40 on a three-pointer by Ovchinnikov with 6:16 remaining, and the Pioneers claimed the lead a minute later on a jumper by Roberson.
Lester responded with a layup to tie it before another Ovhinnikov three gave the Pioneers their largest lead since the opening minutes. It took another two minutes, but Williams evened it up at 45-45 when he hit a three-pointer with 2:27 to play. A pair of Roberson free throws put Lewis & Clark back on top, but Wilson made a layup with 1:39 remaining to tie the score once again and neither team scored in the final 99 seconds of regulation.
The Lutes took a one-point lead in the opening minute of overtime on a free throw by Foreman, but Lewis & Clark got a pair of free throws by Ovchinnikov on the Pioneers' next possession to go up 49-48. An Ovchinnikov layup nearly two minutes later made it a three-point game once again before a Lester bucket pulled PLU within one with 90 seconds remaining. Foreman came through with his layup on PLU's next possession, and Lester hit two free throws with 13 seconds to play to put PLU up three. Wilson rebounded a missed three-pointer by Luhnow and made his second free throw attempt to clinch the win for the Lutes.
Pacific Lutheran rallied back from a 25-percent second-half shooting performance (7-of-28) to make two of its three shot attempts in OT, while Lewis & Clark made only one of its eight overtime attempts after shooting 40.0 percent (10-of-25) in the second period. PLU held a 16-10 turnover advantage to help make up for a 44-32 Lewis & Clark rebounding advantage in a game that featured seven lead changes and six tie scores.
