WALLA, WALLA, Wash. - Seth Hall piled on 24 points as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team weathered a sluggish start to down host Whitman College 78-72 on Friday evening inside the Sherwood Center to remain perfect in Northwest Conference play.

The host Blues (4-8, 2-2 NWC) came out of the gate firing, hitting four of their first five three-point shots in building an early 16-4 advantage just over five minutes into the game. Undaunted the NWC-leading Lutes (9-4, 4-0 NWC) scored the next 11 points with Hall fueling the scoring surge with a pair of treys. Whitman's edge grew back to seven on a three just over four minutes before the break before PLU whittled the gap to just five at 33-27 after 20 minutes of play.

Pacific Lutheran seized control early in the second half with a Brett Williams jumper pushing the Lutes up 39-37 with 14:55 remaining. The Lutes would maintain a lead the rest of the way, building a double digit gap before hitting eight free throws in the final 61 seconds to hold on for the road win to keep atop the league standings.  

"After a slow start down 16-4, we got a huge boost from Seth to steady us," said Head Coach Chad Murray. "Our defense also kicked in and we were able to string together some stops to allow us to reset."

"In the second half, I thought it was huge that we were able to get the first five points to hammer home the point I made at halftime that it was our game to win. We had a very efficient half offensively and eventually we were able to crack through and separate a bit."

Hall led the Lutes with 24 points and 12 rebounds, draining four treys on the night while doling out four assists. Tyler Ashmore came off the bench and added 16 points in just 21 minutes of action while Jordan Thomas tallied a dozen points. Sean McCurdy walked off with 10 points along with six rebounds and four helpers.

"We got a great performance from Tyler. He was big for us as he was able to get some buckets inside but then also hit a huge three at a critical stage."

The Lutes shot 48.1 percent (25-for-52) from the field, including a scorching 66.7 percent (16-for-24) in the second half. PLU outrebounded Whitman 37-30 and enjoyed a 22-6 edge in bench production.

"This group has a lot of character and we're pumped to get to Spokane for tomorrow night's game."

The Lutes face a stiff test tomorrow evening, closing out their tour of eastern Washington by facing 20th-ranked Whitworth University. Tipoff in Spokane is set for 6 p.m.