TACOMA, Wash. --- The Pacific Lutheran Men's Basketball team returned for their second home and non-conference game of the 2024-25 season, dropping the matchup against former Sweet Sixteen team Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 64-60.
 
To start the game, the Lutes stormed out to a 7-0 lead, led by three-pointers from Mack Hepper and Dom Perasso; prompting a timeout by the Stags. Perasso and Ben Tellez helped maintain a 12-4 lead in the ensuing possessions, but a 11-3 run by CMS brought them back to knot it up at 15-15 with under 10-minutes in the half.
 
Hepper responded with his second make from beyond the arc, ultimately leading to a 12-0 run in favor of the Stags to go into the media timeout. With 1:39 remaining in the half, CMS held a 9-point, 31-22, lead. Perasso paired up with Jason Montes to cash in on a pair of threes in the closing seconds to cut the deficit to just three. The Lutes trails the Stags, 31-28, heading into the halftime break.
 
Miles Nash sunk a pair of free throws at the start of the second half, followed by a driving layup to keep it a four-point game. After a Brandin Riedel lay-in, Nash drilled a three to give the Lutes a one-point advantage. Montes and Hepper kept the Lutes with in striking distance after the Stags took the lead. Montes made a pair of three throws, tying the game back up at 50-50; the first tie since 15-15 in the first half.
 
A 7-2 run gave CMS a five-point advantage before Nash clawed PLU back to down just one point with 1:45 on the clock. Tellez drilled a jump shot with one minute remaining after the Stags made a trio of free throws; CMS lead by two with 67-seconds remaining. Unable to make a clutch shot in crunch time, the Stags got it done from the free throw line in the final seconds, earning a 64-60 victory over the Lutes.
 
Nash led the scoring with 16-points, gathering five rebounds, and two assists. Perasso followed close with 12-points and a team-high eight rebounds; tied with Brandin Riedel. Perasso and Hepper made three deep balls, as Hepper also led the team with three assists. As a team, the Lutes shot just 35.7% from the field and 27.6% from beyond the arc. The shooting woes showed on the charity stripe as well for PLU, going 12-19 from the line.
 
"Tough result tonight but I was really pleased with our competitive level and how we responded to adversity tonight. We knew Claremont was going to be really physical on both ends and I thought our guys met the challenge for the most part." Said Head Coach Chad Murray following the game.
 
"We ended up on the short end of it tonight due to some controllables that we talk about daily. Free Throws, defensive rebounding and some interior Field Goal attempts that we missed really ended up costing us."
 
"With all of that said we had a tremendous look at a 3 in the last possession to take the lead that just didn't go down. We gave ourselves an opportunity and that's all you can ask for. We'll pick ourselves up and be ready for tomorrow vs another great team."
 
The Lutes host Chapman tomorrow night inside Olson Gymnasium at 7 p.m. to wrap up the weekend series against a pair of SCIAC schools.
 
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