TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team opened up its three game homestand in style on Sunday afternoon inside Olson Gymnasium, draining its opening 10 shots of the game in a 96-52 blowout of Douglas College.
The visiting Canadians scored on the game's opening possession but it was all Lutes (6-1) after that, with a
Brandin Riedel layup 45 seconds into the game sparking a 20-0 Lute run. PLU was unstoppable during the 20-point scoring binge, hitting all nine of its shots from the field while generating four Royal turnovers. Riedel tallied nine of the Lutes' 20 points during the run with
Sam Noland finishing it off with a three with 15:09 left in the opening stanza.
Pacific Lutheran's edge ballooned to 36 on an
Ashton Rico layup with 4:23 left in the first half while a Noland three right before the half gave the hosts a comfortable 60-27 edge at the halftime intermission in an opening 20 minutes that saw the Lutes scorch the nets, shooting 70.6 percent (24-for-34) from the floor and 64.3 percent (nine-for-14) from three-point range.
The Lutes led by at least 30 the entire second half en route to the 44-point victory.
"I thought we approached this game really well. The guys came out with a purpose and were really intentional about defending at a high level. That allowed us to play really confidently on the offensive end especially in the first half," said Head Coach
Chad Murray.
Riedel racked up 18 points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes of action, hitting eight of his nine shots on the day. Noland matched Riedel's offensive production with 18 points, draining four treys.
Jackson Reisner came off the bench and scored 11 in his season debut while
Miles Nash had eight points and a team-high nine assists.
PLU won the turnover battle 20-11 and outrebounded the Royals 40-29. The Lutes ended the night shooting at a 54.1 percent clip (40-for-74), including 37.5 percent (12-for-32) from beyond the arc.
"It was nice to get Jackson back on the court for us. He's had a long road of recovery to get to this point. He did what he does and we were energized and inspired by watching him."
The win was the Lutes' biggest offensive output of the year and the second time this winter cracking the 90-point barrier. PLU's 96 points on Sunday was it's best offensive effort since piling on 102 in a home victory over Willamette University last January.
The Lutes are back on the hardwood on Friday, hosting Northwest Indian College at 7 p.m.
