SPOKANE, Wash. - A sluggish start ultimately derailed the fourth-seeded Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team in Thursday's Northwest Conference Tournament semifinals, falling 87-57 to top-seeded Whitworth University.
 
"This was an incredible season for PLU men's basketball," said Head Coach Chad Murray. "I'm so proud of the way our team came together during the season and realized how good we could be at the most opportune time. Our conference record of 10-6 is one of the best in the history of the program and making the conference tournament was a tremendous reward for their hard work and dedication."

The NWC regular season champion Pirates (21-5) never trailed, scoring eight of the opening 10 points and staking a 20-5 lead just over seven minutes into the game. PLU (14-12) would slice a 17-point deficit to just 10 on a Jordan Thomas layup with 6:58 left in the opening half but couldn't sustain that success the rest of the half, trailing 44-24 at the halftime intermission.
 
Whitworth kept the Lutes at arm's length the entire second half to advance to the NWC title game.
 
Leighton Kingma hit three treys and led the Lutes with 17 points while Thomas added 12 and a team-high eight rebounds. Conor Geiger was the third Lute in double figures, collecting 12 along with six boards.
 
Whitworth had four players in double figures, including a game-high 21 points from Ben Collage.

"We were able to create moments that we'll never forget both on and off the court starting with our spring trip to Australia and ending with this run to the postseason."
 
Thursday's game wrapped up a successful season for the Lutes that saw the team compile a 10-6 record in NWC play and punch a ticket to the NWC Tournament for the first time since the 2015-2016 season. Serving as a catalyst for the Lutes' renaissance was the 2020 senior class of Jacob Bingham, Conor Geiger, Kyle James, and Leighton Kingma that turned the program from a four-win squad in 2017-2018 to one of the top teams in the NWC this winter.

"We're really going to miss Leighton, Conor, Jacob, and Kyle. Each one provided something unique to our success. I'm so thankful I got the pleasure to work with each of them and I'm a better coach and person because of it."