TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team is gearing up for a return to non-conference play this week, hosting Portland Bible College on Wednesday and Northwest Christian University on Saturday. 
 
The Lutes (2-2, 1-1 Northwest Conference) are returning to Olson Gymnasium after going 1-1 on a short road stretch to open conference play. The road trip was highlighted by the victory against University of Puget Sound, downing the host Loggers 84-75. Sophomore Kelton Williams made a big impact in that game, scoring 18 points for the Lutes. 
 
"Right now, I feel the beginning of season is going pretty good. The team is gelling together really well as we prepare for our opponents on and off the court." 
 
As the Lutes turn their attention to Wednesday's matchup against the Wildcats, Williams gave us some insight as to how the team is preparing. 
 
"Right now, we are preparing for the game by watching film then applying what we see in film to practice. At the same time, we continue to work on major things that will apply to all our opponents like transition defense. My expectation for this game is that if we stick to our game plan and our scouting reports, we should come out with a win."
 
Williams has had a nice start to the season adding a team-high, 17 total assists, to his 7.0 points per game average. Early season statistical leaders for the Lutes include Leighton Kingma with 19.5 points per game and Jordan Thomas with 8.8 rebounds per game. Junior Conor Geiger is shooting an impressive 46.2% from behind the arc while averaging 10.8 ppg. 
 
The last time the Lutes were in Olson, they drained a program record 18 three pointers to shoot past Evergreen State College. The team will look to continue their hot shooting at home against Portland Bible and Northwest Christian.  
 
Dec. 5: PLU vs. Portland Bible inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
 
Series History: The Lutes and Wildcats have met three times with PLU holding a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. PLU prevailed 73-70 during the 16-17 season before the Wildcats avenged the loss last season with a 69-64 win in Portland. 
 
About the Wildcats: Portland Bible (0-9) has been road warriors to start the season. The Wildcats hosted Westmont on Nov. 2, falling 110-74 to open the season and has been on the road since with tonight's visit to Olson Gymnasium marking the ninth game away from campus for Portland Bible. 
 
Portland Bible, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association and the Pacific Christian Athletic Conference, has faced a steady diet of NAIA foes including a common opponent in Evergreen State. PBC fell 93-68 to TESC back on Nov. 17. 
 
The Wildcats last contest was on Saturday, stumbling 123-40 to intracity rival and Division I Portland State University. Durham Rosser paved the way for the Wildcats, scoring 23 of the team's 40 points against the Vikings.
 
Dec. 8: PLU vs. Northwest Christian inside Olson Gymnasium (4 p.m.)

Series History: The Lutes and Beacons have met three times with Northwest Christian enjoying a 2-1 lead in the all-time series. The two squads last met during the 2009-2010 season with PLU prevailing 67-63.

About the Beacons: Northwest Christian (7-2, 3-0 Cascade Collegiate Conference) heads into its Friday clash with New Hope Christian College riding a five game win streak. The Beacons picked up a pair of forfeit wins over Walla Walla University last weekend while edging Corban University 86-82 on Nov. 27. 

Austin Tyner has been the Beacons top weapon, averaging 23.4 points per game while Ernest Ugoagu adds 19.5 ppg. Reece Robinson adds 16.3 ppg and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game while Davonte Cleveland is the fourth Beacon averaging in double figures, adding 15.7 ppg.