Setting the Scene: The Lutes return home after two weekends of the road to host NWC leading Whitworth inside Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Pirates have skirmished 163 times on the hardwood since the 1946-1947 campaign with Whitworth holding a 96-67 edge in the heated in-state rivalry.
The two teams last met on Jan. 20 in Spokane with the host Pirates prevailing 85-64 despite the Lutes holding an early lead. Brandin Riedel led the Lutes in the first matchup of the season, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds with Sam Noland adding 14 points.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (13-10, 6-8 NWC) returns to Olson Gymnasium riding a two-game win streak. The Lutes slipped past Pacific 73-65 last Friday night before taking down Lewis & Clark 74-63 the following day.
Miles Nash headlined the Lutes road victories in Oregon, averaging 23.5 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, and 4.0 assists per game over the weekend.
Against Pacific, the Lutes trailed by nine with 15:26 left in the game before scoring 13 of the next 15 to take the lead. The Boxers briefly reclaimed the lead but Pau scored the next eight points and held a lead the rest of the way to cement the win. Nash headlined the night with a career-high 24 points and 13 boards.
The following night against the Pioneers was a tight game early before a Mack Hepper trey sparked a 13-2 run to stake a double-digit Lute lead. PLU would never look back on a night Nash dropped 23 points and Brandin Riedel added 13.
The Lutes rank 27th nationally (out of 412 NCAA Division III teams) in field goal percentage, hitting 48.1 percent of its shots while leading the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 71.8 points per game. PLU additionally leads the conference in rebounding margin at +4.8.
Miles Nash leads the Lutes in scoring, rebounding, and assists, dropping 15.3 points per game with a 6.5 rebounds per game average while dishing out a team-high 84 assists this winter.
Riedel leads the NWC and ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage, sinking 64.4 percent of his shots on the season while averaging 14.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg. Sam Noland drops 12.0 ppg while Jason Montes is the fourth Lute in double figures, netting 10.4 ppg.
About the Pirates: Whitworth (16-7, 12-2 NWC) controls its own destiny heading into the final weekend of the regular season, holding the inside track to win the league title and hosting rights for the 2024 NWC Tournament.
The Pirates opened the NWC slate by winning eight straight before dropping back-to-back games top Pacific (89-74) and Willamette (85-78). Since then, The Pirates have righted the ship, winning four consecutive including a 73-66 win over Linfield last Friday and a 94-81 win over George Fox on Saturday.
Sullivan Menard paced the Pirates in their wins last weekend, averaging 24.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. Menard was the NWC Player of the Week on Monday, largely off his performance against George Fox where he dropped 39 points— the highest single game scoring total in the conference this season.
Three Pirates average in double figures with Jojo Anderson leading the charge by averaging 17.8 points per game while dishing out a team-best 63 assists. Sullivan Menard drops 15.4 ppg while Jake Holtz nets 14.7 ppg and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
Home Cooking: The Lutes have made Olson Gymnasium a tough venue for opposing teams over the past three plus seasons. PLU has won 31 of it's last 42 home games, a stretch dating back to the end of the 2019-2020 campaign.
The Lutes have been a tough team to play at home this season (8-3) and combined with volleyball and women's basketball are 25-7 inside Olson Gymnasium during the 2023-2024 academic year!
1 Weekend. 3 Championships.
Check out all the celebration highlights below as PLU volleyball, women's soccer, and men's soccer all clinched league titles on Senior Day weekend on Oct. 28-29.
Fall Sports Recap
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Summer Lutes
PLU men's soccer student-athlete Elijah Singleton had a busy summer serving as an intern in a lab at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Learn more about his daily routine in the video below.
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Next Home Game:
Feb. 17 vs. Whitman at 6 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu