TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University Men's Basketball team begins its regular season in Olson Gymnasium this Friday against SUNY College at Old Westbury (Panthers).

The Lutes will be taking a young squad into the 2018-19 season as the team will turn to senior Zac Webb(F/C) and junior Leight Kingma (F) for leadership. Webb averaged 8.3 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game last season.

"We're a very young team this year, with a lot of fresh faces," said Kingma. "Our focus has been to ramp up our defensive energy this year, and to familiarize all the new players on our roster with our defensive philosophy. As far as offense goes, we have a ton of new talent, with a whole bunch of guys capable of putting up big numbers. We're really trying to run the floor more this year, adding a new offensive break to try to get some good, quick looks. We're young, fresh, and really excited for this opportunity to show our growth."

SUNY College at Old Westbury comes off a 12-14 record in the 2017-18 season. The Lutes will have to pay special attention to 2nd team All-Skyline selection Alan Mcdonald as he will be the prominent scoring threat for the Panthers. He averaged a team high 14.6 points per contest last season.

Tip-off is set for 6pm on Friday.

"(The first few games) are really important," added Kingma. "Momentum is vital in the game of basketball, and starting off the year strong will help us tremendously. We're all really excited to show how much our team has grown from last year."    

Nov. 16: PLU vs. Old Westbury inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)

Series History: The Lutes and Panthers have never met on the hardwood. PLU has faced off against just one school from the state of New York, defeating Cabrini College during the 2001-2002 season.

About the Panthers: Old Westbury (12-14, 11-9 Skyline Conference in 2017-2018) returns three starters from a season ago, including leading scorer Alan McDonald who averages 14.6 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Also back is Stanley Baker (4.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Yancy Ulysse (8.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg).

The Panthers qualified for the Skyline Conference Tournament but was ousted 89-64 in the opening round by Mount Saint Vincent.