TACOMA, Wash. – The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team started the second half of the season in style, scoring 47 second-half points to blow out Willamette University 81-62 inside Olson Gymnasium. With the victory, the Lutes moved to 3-0 in Northwest Conference action and moved to the top of the league standings.
"This was an exciting win over a really good team," said PLU Head Coach
Chad Murray. "Willamette had a big, confidence-building win last night that caused me to lose some sleep, but I thought our guys really came out with an intense focus to defend and make them earn every basket.
Jordan Thomas and
Brett Williams in particular had incredible nights defensively and then somehow had enough energy to do some great things offensively too."
Sean McCurdy scored 10 of PLU's first 12 points as the home team jumped out to a quick 15-6 lead. A pesky Bearcat team didn't go away, and tied the score with a layup at the halftime buzzer at 34.
In the second half, Willamette clawed their way to one-point leads of 44-43 and 47-46, but PLU scored 35 points in the final 15 minutes to close the game on a 35-15 run. A 12-0 run beginning with a
Sam Noland free throw at the 8:06 mark and ending on a layup by
Seth Hall at 4:33 pushed the PLU lead to 15 and the Lutes cruised into the finish line.
After missing the last two games, Hall led all scorers with 22 points and was one of three Lutes with five assists.
Brett Williams and
Jordan Thomas also had five dimes. McCurdy finished with 15 and
Brandin Riedel made a solid contribution off the bench with 12. Thomas was all over the floor with a game-high 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and pair of blocks to go with six points.
The Lutes shot 53 percent in the second half and dominated the glass, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds and outrebounding the visitors 41-31.
"Seth, Sean, Shane, Sam, Brandin and Tyler all had their moments as well," said Murray. "Our bench energy was incredible so it was a fantastic team win. After the postponement last night, I was really happy to see us adapt and recharge quickly for tonight. I'm excited to prepare for the Whits next weekend.
Next weekend will be a big one for the Lutes as they hit the road for Walla Walla and Spokane. PLU will take on Whitman College on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. and head to Whitworth University on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
