TACOMA, Wash.— Four Lutes finished in double figures as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball closed out its penultimate homestand of the season on Saturday inside Olson Gymnasium with a 75-64 victory over Northwest Conference rival Linfield University.
"It feels good to put another one in the win column after a few weeks without one. I was really pleased to see our group respond to some early adversity in the second half when Linfield took the lead by one. We immediately scored and extended the lead back to three possessions with some good execution and nice team defense," said Head Coach
Chad Murray.
The Lutes (11-8, 4-6 NWC) never trailed in the first half. PLU opened up a nine-point gap on a
Jackson Reisner three with 7:06 left before halftime but the visiting Wildcats wouldn't make it easy for the Lutes, as PLU enjoyed just a 32-27 lead at the halftime intermission.
A pair of
Miles Nash free throws put PLU up seven in the second half but Linfield (6-13, 1-9 NWC) would score 10 of the next 12 points, taking their first, and ultimately last, lead of the night at 37-36 with 16:15 remaining.
The Lutes responded with the next seven points, getting a jumper from
Sam Noland to reclaim the lead followed by a
Liam Johnston layup and a
Mack Hepper three to pull ahead by six. PLU's lead swelled to 10 on a Reisner layup with 3:25 remaining. A Wildcat three closed the gap to just six with 77 seconds remaining but a
Brandin Riedel layup and five made free throws in the final 41 seconds preserved the win.
Sam Noland led the Lutes with 15 points, shooting six-for-10 from the floor with six rebounds and five assists.
Miles Nash added 14 points, five assists, and five rebounds while Reisner hit four treys on the night, coming off the bench and scoring 14. Riedel was the fourth Lute in double figures with 12 points with
Mack Hepper contributing nine on the night.
"Jackson hit some timely shots, as did Sam but I'm more excited about the mental side of things from tonight's game. We responded well to some situations and guys played within who they are to help us win as a group. That's all we need to do and hopefully we can build on it so we can finish the season on a high note."
PLU outrebounded Linfield 40-36 while also outshooting the visitors. The Lutes finished the game shooting at a 44.8 percent (26-for-58) clip while the Wildcats shot just 38.8 percent (26-for-67) from the floor.
The Lutes hit the road next week, facing Willamette University on Friday at 8 p.m. in Salem, Oregon.
