Setting the Scene: The Lutes close out their penultimate homestand of the season this evening, taking on Oregon rival Linfield University inside Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Wildcats have battled 144 times since the series first began in 1939-1940 with PLU enjoying a 79-65 edge in the all-time series. Pacific Lutheran won the last meeting between the two back on Dec. 1, prevailing 73-66 in McMinnville behind a 21-point performance from Miles Nash.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (10-8, 3-6 NWC) heads into the weekend three games back of the fourth and final spot for the NWC Tournament with seven games to play.
On Wednesday, Miles Nash dropped a career-high 23 points but PLU was unable to contain a hot-shooting University of Puget Sound, falling 87-77 inside Olson Gymnasium in a game that featured 14 ties and six lead changes.
Tied at 59, the visiting Loggers (9-9, 5-4 NWC) mounted a 12-2 run over a four minute stretch to stake a double digit advantage with 4:49 remaining in the game. A Mack Hepper trey cut the gap to seven with 1:21 remaining but the host Lutes (10-8, 3-6 NWC) were unable to come any closer in the nine-point setback as the Loggers drained six free throws in the final 44 seconds.
The opening half featured four lead changes and eight ties with neither squad owning a lead greater than six points. A Logger three with 11:41 remaining put the visitors up by a single point but the Lutes responded with seven straight, including a Jackson Reisner trey with 8:52 left. Puget Sound ripped off seven in a row later in the half to tie the game and took a 38-35 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
PLU shot an even 50 percent (29-for-58) from the floor but was unable to keep pace with Puget Sound who finished the night shooting 57.9 percent (33-for-57), including a scorching 65.4 percent (17-for-26) in the second half.
The Lutes rank 21st nationally (out of 412 NCAA Division III teams) in field goal percentage, hitting 48.6 percent of its shots. It's a mark that sits second best in the NWC, just a shade behind Whitman (48.7). Defensively, the Lutes sit atop the NWC, limiting opponents to just 72.0 points per game this winter.
Miles Nash leads the Lutes in scoring, rebounding, and assists, dropping 15.4 points per game with a 6.4 rebounds per game average while dishing out a team-high 66 assists this winter.
Riedel leads the NWC and ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage, sinking 64.7 percent of his shots on the season while averaging 14.3 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Sam Noland drops 12.8 ppg while Jason Montes is the fourth Lute in double figures, netting 10.6 ppg.
About the Wildcats: Linfield (6-11, 1-7 NWC) busted out of a five-game slump last Friday, edging Pacific 64-59 for their first win of league play. Prior to the win, the Wildcats had setbacks to Willamette (83-60), Puget Sound (73-58), Whitman (64-58), Whitworth (66-62), and George Fox (86-77).
Against Pacific, the Wildcats trailed at the half, led by as many as 10 in the second half, and needed some late free throws to cement the win after the Boxers' pulled to within three on a trey with 31 ticks left.
Joshua Ryan led Linfield with 15 points on the night while Jackson Dupree and Garrett Callsen both collected double-doubles.
Cade Collins is the lone Wildcat averaging in double figures, netting 11.7 points per game while Chase Bennett contributes 9.1 ppg. Jackson Dupree is the team leader in both rebounds (8.8 per game) and assists (2.4 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 30 of it's last 41 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 (7-3) and combined with volleyball and women's basketball are 23-7 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. 16 vs. Whitworth at 8 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