TACOMA, Wash. – The outcome was never in doubt on Friday night in Olson Gymnasium as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team blew past Northwest Indian College 109-37.
All 16 Lutes that played made a bucket in the final contest of 2019.
Leighton Kingma led all scorers with 13, while
Jordan Thomas,
Jacob Bingham and
Sean McCurdy all had 12. PLU shot an impressive 57 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes to build a 69-18 halftime lead.
Blake Uyehara and
Bailey Verk were active passers off the bench as each player finished with a team-high four assists. Kingma and
Dylan McConnell both had nine rebounds to lead the team, while
Kyle James added eight more.
A stout defense held the Eagles to just 21 percent shooting from the floor and nine percent from beyond the three-point arc. The Lutes also flexed their muscles on the backboard, outrebounding Northwest Indian by a 79-28 margin, including a 28-4 mark on the offensive glass. Thomas led the defensive effort with four steals and
Seth Hall added a pair of blocked shots.
PLU (4-5) will be tested early in the New Year and to open Northwest Conference action. The Lutes open league play at Whitworth University on Friday, January 3 and will do battle with Whitman College the following day in Walla Walla.
