TACOMA, Wash. – With all five starters returning to the lineup in 2019-20, Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball coach Chad Murray hopes to keep improving the program he inherited three years ago. 
 
The Lutes took a significant step forward last season with an 8-16 record and a 5-11 mark in the Northwest Conference, and with the return of its top five scorers, PLU looks to continue that momentum this winter. 
 
"I already see signs of us improving, just in how we practice, how we go about doing things, the chemistry of the group and the culture of the program," said Murray.  "I can tell we are moving forward."
 
Leading the charge for the Lutes will be last season's leading scorer and senior Leighton Kingma.  Kingma averaged 16.9 points per game as a junior and pulled down an average of 5.9 rebounds per contest.  The 6'7" forward was the Lutes' top threat from the outside, knocking down a team-high 65 three-pointers and shooting 42.8 percent from long range. 
 
Another leader for the Lutes is senior Conor Geiger.  In his first year at PLU, the transfer from Mount Hood Community College averaged 10.3 points and was the team's second leading rebounder at 6.1 per game.
 
After an impressive freshman campaign, Jordan Thomas, one of the NWC's top defenders returns to the forward spot for PLU.  Thomas led the Lutes in rebounding at 7.0 per game and steals at 1.6.  The Chehalis native also averaged 10.5 points. 
 
Kelton Williams is back to run the show for PLU.  The team's leader in minutes last year, dished out a team best 4.3 assists per game a year ago, while averaging 10.7 points.  After being limited to just four starts and eight games because of injury last season, Jacob Bingham enters his senior season healthy and ready to make a big impact.      
 
"I think we have good shooting and some guys that can get to the basket," said Murray. 
 
Coach Murray brought in some experienced student-athletes to add to the mix.  Seth Hall comes to Tacoma after averaging 15.7 points per game at Lower Columbia College last year, and Blake Uyehara arrives from De Anza College in California.  Freshmen Sean McCurdy and Brett Williams have also impressed in the early going. 
 
"We have some really great additions to the program," said Murray.  "I think all of our new guys have an opportunity to help."
 
It won't take long for PLU to find out how much improvement was made in the offseason as the Lutes open the NWC slate with all five teams that finished ahead of them in the conference race a season ago. 
 
"Our league is going to be a big challenge no matter who we play, and we'll have to be really sharp from the start," said Murray.  "We'll find out quickly how we stack up against the league's top tier programs." 
 
The Lutes will step onto the hardwood for the first time tomorrow when they head to NCAA Division I Seattle U for a 7:00 p.m. exhibition. 
 
"Seattle U presents us with just a fun opportunity to see how we stack up against a good Division I program that is really headed in the right direction," said Murray.  "Are we going to go up there with the proper mindset?  I'll be interested to see how we react to both the positive and negative situations that the game produces."
 
PLU will begin the season on Friday when they square off with Johnson & Wales University (Colo.) at 5:00 p.m.  The Lutes close a busy first weekend on Saturday when they play the University of California, Santa Cruz at 3:00 p.m.