MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Miles Nash poured on a season-high 21 points, ensuring the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball squad remained undefeated with a 73-66 win over Linfield University on Friday night in the Northwest Conference opener at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
 
"That was another gritty win for the Lutes. Linfield is a very difficult place to win and we knew there was going to be a lot of adversity along the way," said Head Coach Chad Murray.
 
"We had some incredible individual performances most notably by Miles and his fantastic defense on #30 in addition to his offensive game. Mack hit some really big shots for us when we needed them."
 
The conference opener was a one possession game until a pair of Jack Williams free throws with 6:57 remaining in the opening half. The Lute lead mushroomed to eight on a Jace Barrett trey with 4:44 left before a Nash trey gave the Lutes (5-0, 1-0 NWC) a comfortable 32-21 halftime edge.
 
The host Wildcats (2-4, 0-1 NWC) reduced the gap to a single possession with 15:48 left in the game and led by three with 13:17 remaining on a Jack Greenwood layup. 
 
The Lutes responded with layups from Sam Noland and Jason Montes to take the lead. PLU wouldn't trail the rest of the game, opening up an eight point lead on a Nash bucket with 4:14 left and holding on for the seven-point win. 

Nash paced all scorers with 21 points, finishing seven-for-10 from the floor with five rebounds and three steals. Sam Noland chipped in 12 points while Mack Hepper added 11 off the bench, hitting four of his five shots from the floor. Jace Barrett drained a trio of threes while Liam Johnston secured six rebounds. 

The Lutes are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since the COVID-19 shortened 2020-2021 season. 
 
"Winning on the road in this league is really hard and we're thrilled to get out of here with a win. We'll be ready for another tough road test on Tuesday."
 
The Lutes are back in action on Tuesday, trekking across town to face University of Puget Sound. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.