Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's hoops team continues its season opening homestand today, welcoming its first Division III opponent of the year to Olson Gymnasium as California's Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges makes the trek to Tacoma.
Series History: The Lutes and Staggs have met just four times since the series began during the 2001-2002 season with both program's having won two games. The two played last season in Claremont on Dec. 30 with the host Stags pulling away in the second half for an 87-62 victory.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (1-0) dominated in-state rival The Evergreen State College to open up the 2024-2025 season last Saturday, rolling the Geoducks 92-61 inside Olson Gymnasium.
PLU led by double digits for all but eight minutes of the game with five Lutes finishing in double figures. Visiting Evergreen scored the game's opening bucket but the Lutes quickly answered, getting a Dom Perasso layup and a three from Henry Smith.
The Lute lead ballooned to 23, including on a Miles Nash layup with 2:56 left in the first half before the Geoducks crawled back into the game, whittling the gap to just 48-35 at the intermission after closing the half on a 10-0 run. PLU led by at least 11 the entire second half in the 31-point blowout.
Henry Smith led all scorers with 19 points, draining five treys on the day and collecting six rebounds and three assists. Miles Nash added 14 points and team-highs of seven rebounds and four assists while Brandin Riedel had 13, going a perfect four-for-four from the paint. Jason Montes added 11 off the bench with Dom Perasso putting down 10 points with five boards. Mack Hepper was one point shy of cracking double figures for a Lute squad that shot 53.1 percent from the floor.
About the Stags: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1-0) heads to Olson Gymnasium undefeated after dismantling PLU's Northwest Conference rival Linfield University 92-64 last Friday to open the season.
In the opener, the host Stags conceded the opening 10 points. The visiting Wildcats led 22-15 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half before CMS scored 30 of the next 37 points, taking a comfortable 45-29 advantage into the intermission.
CMS kept the Wildcats at bay the entire second half, owning at least a 17-point edge the entire second half in the 28-point blowout win.
Five Stags scored in double figures with Caelan Jones leading the way with a 21-point effort. AJ Rohosy added 14 points in just 19 minutes of action while grabbing eight boards while Robert Power had 12 points. Neil Owens dropped 11, Reid Jones tallied 10, and Cahal Connolly had a team-best 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
Home Sweet Home: Olson Gymnasium is a tough venue for opposing teams with the Lutes boasting a 31-12 record inside the facility since the 2020-2021 season.
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
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.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
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:
Nov. 16: Chapman at 7 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