TACOMA, Wash. - Five Lutes finished in double figures as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team opened up Northwest Conference play with an 84-75 victory over host University of Puget Sound on Tuesday night inside Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Lutes (2-1, 1-0 NWC) got off to a sluggish start, conceding seven of the opening eight points before rattling off 16 of the next 20, staking a 17-11 advantage midway through the opening half. Pacific Lutheran's edge swelled to eight on a trey from Tyler Combs with 8:16 left in the half as the Lutes enjoyed a 35-29 lead after 20 minutes of play.

The Lute lead mushroomed to 12 off a Leighton Kingma three with 12:40 remaining but the homestanding Loggers (3-2, 0-1 NWC) battled back, reclaiming the lead on a three with just under four minutes to go. A UPS technical foul put KIngma on the free throw line to tie the game, sparking an 8-0 Lute run to reestablish the lead. UPS closed to within four with 54 seconds left but PLU made five free throws in the closing 23 seconds to preserve the win to begin the rugged NWC slate.

"This is a huge first conference win for our team," said Head Coach Chad Murray. "I have a ton of respect for UPS and their players and they had us back on our heels in that second half. But our young guys really stepped up and made some tremendous plays. I'm so proud of how they stuck with it down the stretch."

Combs unleashed 16 points in the opening half, finishing with 20 while Kelton Williams added 18 points, shooting an efficient eight-for-12 from the floor. Kingma added 16, going a perfect six-for-six at the charity stripe while Jordan Thomas added 12 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Conor Geiger was the fifth Lute in double figures, adding 12 points and eight rebounds.

"A handful of guys just seemed to take turns keeping us going and allowing us to come out on top."

The Lutes finished the game shooting 52.6 percent (30-for-57) from the floor, including a red-hot 63.3 percent (19-for-30) in the second half while limiting UPS to shooting just 38.6 percent (27-for-70) from the field.

"We're just getting started and we were fortunate to be able to win tonight while still learning some valuable lessons."

PLU is back in action on Friday, facing Linfield College at 8 p.m. in McMinnville, Oregon.