TACOMA, Wash. — Henry Smith came off the bench and hit five three-pointers on Saturday night as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team wrapped up its opening homestand of the season undefeated wth a 75-57 victory over Nerbraska Wesleyan University. 

"It was a great weekend for the Lutes!  We're really proud of the way the guys handled this opportunity. We shot the ball really well from three last night and tonight we made enough to hang in there versus a really effective and tough zone that Wesleyan runs," said Head Coach Chad Murray.

"What I was really happy to see was our team defense. Especially tonight, we were able to make it difficult on them to find open looks. I have a lot of respect for NWU so being able to secure this win tonight in the way we did was nice to see."

The opening moments of the game saw one lead change and four ties, including at 13 all with 12:52 left in the first half. Henry Smith drained a three on the next possession sparking a 12-3 Lute run that included a Mack Hepper three to make it a nine-point contest with 7:40 left in the opening stanza. The Lutes (3-2) would continue to grow that lead, touching a dozen on another Hepper three with 5:37 remaining while a Charlie Kapranos bucket gave the home side a 34-19 lead at the halftime break.

PLU cruised in the second half, leading by as many as 29 points and enjoying at least a 14-point barrier over the final 20 minutes of play.

Dom Perasso led the offensive efforts with 16 points while grabbing seven rebounds while Smith added 15 points, shooting five-for-nine from distance. Kapranos had nine points, nine rebounds, and five assists while Hepper and Ben Tellez also added nine points. 

PLU kept the Prairie Wolves (2-3) in check, forcing the 2025 American River Conference Tournament runner-ups to shooting just 32.8 percent (20-for-61) from the floor and just 16.1 percent (five-for-31) from three-point range.

The Lutes take a Thanksgiving week break and return to the hardwood on Tuesday, December 2, heading down I-5 to Olympia, Washington to square off against The Evergreen State College. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.