PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Pacific Lutheran Men's Basketball team (14-11, 11-5 NWC) overcame a halftime deficit by outscoring the Lewis & Clark Pioneers (13-12, 9-7 NWC) 44-29 in the second half; cruising to a 80-67 victory on the road. After clinching a NWC postseason bid last night, the Lutes win on Saturday locked them into the No.2 seed in the four-team tournament.
 
Senior Emmett Holt sank the first basket of the game on the Lutes opening possession, knocking down a jumper off of a pass from Henry Smith. Ben Tellez drew a shooting foul from beyond the arc minutes later, thanks to senior Brandin Riedel keeping the possession alive with an offensive rebound. The Lutes capped off an early 5-0 run to begin their final regular season game of the year.
 
Lewis & Clark, sitting in fourth in the conference standings entering Saturday's game, didn't go away though, sinking four-straight threes on four possessions to take a 12-11 lead over the Lutes through five minutes of play. After the Pioneers made their fifth three on five-made field goals, Riedel responded with a three of his own to knot the game back up at 17-17. This was just the second three-pointer the senior big man has made this season in three attempts.
 
The Pios found their largest lead of the first half (five) with 9:34 remaining, but a Mack Hepper three kept the Lutes within striking distance. Emmett Holt, coming off of Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors, found his stride from beyond the arc, knocking down a trey meanwhile Riedel was nails from the charity stripe; Lutes trailed 38-24 with 40-seconds to play. Tellez scored a driving bucket to make it a 38-36 ballgame in favor of the Pios at the half.
 
Each team shot a nearly identical 50% from the field in the opening 20-minutes, but the Pios 7-11 from beyond the arc put them ahead at the break. Both squads, who could potentially face-off in the opening round of the NWC tournament, protected the ball, turning it over only a combined seven times.
 
Riedel opened the second half with a jumper to tie the game up at 38-38. Tellez gave the Lutes the lead again on the next possession, followed by a Holt deep ball to go up 43-39 through two and a-half minutes.
 
Holt and Smith kept firing after a 43-43 tie, while Tellez's and-one and a Charlie Kapranos jumper extended the Lutes lead up to eight with under 14-minutes to play. The Pios continued to fight back, cutting the deficit to as little as four at the 8:06 mark, but an 8-0 run in favor of the Lutes over three minutes gave PLU their first double-digit lead of the game.
 
Playing the free throw game in the closing minutes, the Lutes maintained their lead and cruised to a 13-point lead to finish the regular season on a five-game win streak. Earning the No.2 seed in the NWC Tournament, they will face the Whitman College Blues next weekend in Spokane; with the season series between the two sitting at 1-1 each.
 
"We had great performances from a lot of guys tonight. I feel like I've said that a handful of times over the last few weeks. But that's really what is making this team pretty special." Said Head Coach Chad Murray following the Lutes win.
 
"Tonight, Brandin was a force inside and Emmett practically carried us through a bit of a sluggish first half. Then Ben, who was sort of a late bloomer in the game, contributed with some timely baskets in the second half. Mack was 3 for 3 from 3 and Jason and Charlie did Jason and Charlie things to help as well."
 
"I'm really proud of how these guys responded to us being 1-3 in conference. They decided to trust harder and commit to our processes that we know lead to success. To win our last 10 of 12 and secure sole possession of second place is something these guys did together and without any care of who gets the credit on a given night."
 
"We aren't done yet. While we are happy with how we're playing, it's the postseason now and there's nothing to lean on except each other to get you to the next round."
 
Holt led the way on Saturday, dropping 18-points and grabbing eight rebounds and dishing three assists. Riedel followed close with 17-points and seven rebounds. Tellez went 6-11 from the field, leading to 16-points of his own.
 
The Lutes set their sights on their return to the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball tournament next weekend in Spokane, Washington, playing the Whitman Blues in a semifinal matchup next weekend on Whitworth's court. 
 
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