OLYMPIA, Wash. — It wasn't easy but the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team extended its win streak to four on Tuesday night, escaping the Costantino Recreation Center with a 77-73 victory over The Evergreen State College. Caleb Berry hit a series of four free throws to push the Lutes into the lead in the waning seconds of a wild game that saw PLU lead by as many as 12 and trail by as many as seven. 
 
"I can't say I was surprised by this game tonight. Evergreen was capable of giving us all we could handle down here. They threw the kitchen sink at us and while we were disappointed in how we handled certain things, we were able to do enough to grind this one out," said Head Coach Chad Murray.
 
"We will learn from this and we'll be better for it. This is what the non-conference is for, to learn, to be exposed, and to see who we count on once conference begins."

Caleb Berry was put on the free throw line with 35.8 seconds left and the Lutes trailing by two. The sophomore drained a pair of shots to give the Lutes (4-2) the lead before getting back to the line just 20 seconds later, drilling two more to make it a three-point buffer. An Evergreen (0-2) turnover put the ball back in the hands of the Lutes with Ben Tellez sinking a free throw to make it a four point game and put it out of reach with three ticks left. 
 
Despite a 12-point lead in the first half, the Lutes needed to dig deep against the in-state rival Geoducks to pull out the program's fourth straight win. PLU's lead was down to just three at the break and quickly turned into a deficit that grew to as many as seven points. 

TESC owned a 58-51 lead with 12:59 left in the game but a jumper from Henry Smith and a three from Ben Tellez quickly made it a one possession contest. Neither team would lead by more than four the rest of the way with the lead trading hands three times down the stretch.

"I was really impressed with Charlie and Dom tonight. They really carried us offensively. Charlie had an incredible all-around game with a bunch of big rebounds."

The game was tied at four two minutes into the game before the Lutes scored the next nine points. A Dom Perasso jump ignited the run that saw Charlie Kapranos tally the remaining seven points of the spurt, hitting a three, a layup, and a dunk, to put PLU up 13-4 with 16:24 left in the opening stanza. 

PLU's edge swelled to a dozen on a Mack Hepper jumper with 11:39 left but the host Geoducks clawed back to within a possession with the Lutes leading 40-37 at the halftime intermission.
 
Perasso paced the Lutes with 21 points, shooting eight-for-16 from the floor with eight rebounds. Kapranos dropped 17 points with 13 rebounds and five assists while Tellez had 17 points, six rebounds, and three steals. 
 
The Lutes take the next ten days off, returning to action on Friday, December 12 when they host Warner Pacific University. Tipoff inside Olson Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.