TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team muscled its way up the Northwest Conference standings on Friday night inside Olson Gymnasium. Behind a 24-point effort from Miles Nash, the Lutes knocked off conference leader Whitman College 84-76, moving into a tie for second place in the league standings.  
 
The victory was the Lutes' (9-9, 6-3 NWC) fifth straight for a squad that has a chance to force a tie atop the standings tomorrow night when 17th-ranked Whitworth University comes to Olson Gymnasium to close out PLU's four game homestand.

"It was a gutty performance by the guys," said Head Coach Chad Murray.

"We were shaky out of the gates but settled and established ourselves and got a lead towards the end of the half. And as good teams do, Whitman punched back. After the half, I thought it was great to see us regain a lead and have to withstand several attempts by them to take back the game. It showed great resilience on our part."
 
Nash put the Lutes' in the driver's seat for good with 5:29 remaining in the game. Tied at 58, Nash drained a layup and hit the ensuing free throw for a three-point play. Nash would get back to the charity stripe the next possession, sinking a pair to give the Lutes a five-point cushion with five minutes to play. 

The Lute lead swelled to nine on another set of Nash free throws, making it 72-63 with 2:56 remaining. Pacific Lutheran made it a double digit buffer with 75 seconds left. The Blues (8-10, 6-3 NWC) attempted a late charge, pulling within five with 17 ticks left but it was too little, too late as the Lutes earned the eight point win to force a tie for second place in the standings between the two Washington rivals.
 
The visiting Blues led 14-9 early in the first half before the Lutes scored the next 12 points to seize a seven-point edge. Liam Johnston ignited the rally with a trey with 13:19 left in the opening period before a Henry Smith layup put the Lutes up two with 12:29 remaining. PLU would never trail the rest of the game, enjoying a slim 36-34 halftime edge. 

PLU's lead mushroomed to nine with 9:23 left in the second half but Whitman scored 10 of the next 11, tying the game at 56 and again at 58 but was unable to wrestle away the lead from the red-hot Lutes.

Nash had a monster night off the bench, scoring 24 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out eight assists I just 27 minutes of work. Emmett Holt had 17 points and eight boards while Brandin Riedel added a dozen points. Liam Johnston had nine points, doing all his damage from beyond the arc.

"Miles was incredible tonight. His state line was solid all around and his leadership was equally as impressive. We got other great contributions from Liam Johnston, Charlie Kapranos, and Dom Perasso. Emmett Holt was great again as well. Total team effort."
 
PLU made the Blues pay for their mistakes, owning a 17-6 edge in points off turnovers while enjoying a massive 48-13 edge in bench production. PLU outshot the Blues, shooting at a 47.5 percent clip (28-for-59) while the visitors shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62) from the floor.
 
The Lutes close out their four-game homestand tomorrow evening, hosting nationally-ranked Whitworth University at 4 p.m.