FOREST GROVE – Ben Tellez drained a school record 12 threes and finished with a career-high 40 points as the Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team torched Pacific University 94-49 on Saturday evening inside the Stroller Center.

Tellez scorched the nets, bombing 20 threes on the night and sinking a school record 12, shooting at a deadly 60 percent clip from beyond the arc. Tellez tallied 40 points in just 30 minutes of action, becoming just the eighth Lute in school history to record a 40-point game and the first since 2008.

Pacific Lutheran (11-12, 5-9 Northwest Conference) was firing from the start, owning a 15-0 lead just under four minutes into the game with all 15 points coming from beyond the arc. Tellez drained the first three of the night before Henry Smith and Caleb Berry got in on the action. PLU would lead by double digits the rest of the way with the lead ballooning to 20 on a Tellez three with 11:38 left in the first half. The lead mushroomed to 30 on another Tellez three with 1:14 left in the half as PLU owned a 49-23 halftime buffer.

PLU led by at least 26 the entire second half with the gap exploding to 49 with 1:13 remaining on a Logan Lucero layup.

The Lutes drained 19 treys on the night, believed to be a school record, and finished shooting at a 50 percent clip from three-point range.

"All the credit goes to the guys tonight. They chose to continue to fight for each other and do it at an elite level," said Head Coach Chad Murray.

"After last night's tough loss, I didn't know what was going to happen but I was so impressed with our level of intensity defensively and then we attacked their zone really well right from the beginning. That allowed for some great looks early. Ben started us off, maintained us, and then finished it off. He was incredible. The guys love Telly and were celebrating him all the way to a new career-high."

Cam Rice joined Tellez in double figures, scoring 13 with seven rebounds while Henry Smith added 11 points, seven boards, and six assists. Julian Brown had a double-double, dropping 10 points along with a team-high 13 rebounds while Jamie McGrail had a team-best seven assists.

The Lutes are back in action on Friday, hosting Whitworth University to open the final homestand of the season. Tipoff against the NWC-leading Pirates is set for 7:30 p.m.