SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Dom Perasso drained a career-high 21 points but it was no match for the hot shooting Banana Slugs who drained 11 treys on the day as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team fell 87-75 to host University of California Santa Cruz inside Kaiser Permanente Arena.

The two teams played a nearly even first half featuring seven lead changes and five ties with the host Slugs holding a tenuous 43-42 lead after 20 minutes of play.
 
The Lutes (0-2) trailed by just two points after a Perasso jumper with 18:24 left in the game before UC Santa Cruz (1-1) mounted a 24-7 spurt over the next six plus minutes, building a double digit advantage they would maintain the rest of the game. The sharpshooting Banana Slugs drained three treys during that spurt and ended the day shooting a blistering 61.1 percent (11-for-18) from beyond the arc.
 
"It was a disappointing end to the trip with a really lackluster second half. We have a long way to go on the defensive end of the floor. We were able to stick with them for a half but we left both our offense and defense in the locker room to begin the second half and they really took it to us," said Head Coach Chad Murray.

"Some of our guys are learning what it means to be dependable and reliable on a night in and night out basis and it's going to take some failure here early in the season to help send that message."
 
Perasso continued his hot start to the season. Just one day removed from scoring 17, the senior was even better, dropping a career-high 21, shooting eight-for-10 from the floor. Perasso drained all eight of his shots from inside the arc and was five-for-five at the charity stripe. He also hauled in six rebounds. 
 
Henry Smith nearly matched Perasso's production, ending with 19 points, shooting six-for-seven from the floor. Charlie Kapranos did a little bit of everything with nine points and nine rebounds, along with five boards and a steal. 
 
PLU shot 50.9 percent (27-for-53) from the floor and we're nearly perfect at the charity stripe, making 14 of its 15 attempts. 
 
"All in all it was a great trip because it showed us some signs of what we're capable of but it also exposed some things we'll need to continue to focus on as we move through our non-conference schedule."
 
The Lutes return home and host Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Friday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.