Setting the Scene: The Lutes close out their season opening homestand tonight, welcoming in-state rival Northwest to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Eagles have met 23 times with Northwest enjoying a slim 12-11 advantage in a series that dates back to the 1987-1988 season. The Eagles have won the last three encounters, including a 91-78 victory last December in Kirkland.
Last year's meeting on Dec. 10 saw the host Eagles draining 14 threes on the night and shooting 58.3 percent from beyond the arc.
About the Lutes: The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team never trailed in the season opener, pulling away in the second half in a 75-53 victory over in-state rival Evergreen State College on Wednesday night inside Olson Gymnasium.
"That was a great first game for the Lutes! We're really pleased the contributions of a lot of different guys throughout the game. We have a lot to work on but I think we have a lot of different guys that can help us win basketball games," said Head Coach Chad Murray.
Brandin Riedel scored the opening bucket of the season just 21 seconds into the game before the Geoducks (0-2) answered with a bucket of their own to tie the game at 2-2 just under a minute into the game. It would be the only tie of the contest with Miles Nash draining a layup on the next possession as PLU scored the next seven points. The Lutes led by as many as eight in the first stanza, including with 7:07 remaining on a Dirk Plakinger layup but Evergreen State refused to back down, cutting the gap to a single point with 4:18 remaining and trailing just 38-35 at the halftime intermission.
Pacific Lutheran's lead dwindled to a single point 45 seconds into the second half but the Lutes quickly answered with layups from Riedel, Nash, and Sam Noland to push the lead back to seven. The Lutes would later use a 9-0 run to open up a 14-point gap on the in-state rivals and led by double digits the rest of way in the 22-point blowout victory.
Noland paced the Lutes offensively with 15 points, shooting seven-for-13 from the floor with four rebounds. Plakinger added 12 points off the bench in just 17 minutes of action, hitting five of his six shots from the field including a pair of treys while Nash added 10 in his Lute debut and a team-best seven rebounds. Jack Williams added nine points with Riedel dishing out a team-high five assists.
"Dirk is coming off of an ankle injury that kept him out for a handful of practices but came back tonight to give us some spark and energy off the bench. We wanted to tighten up our defense in the second half and the guys responded really well to the tune of 15 consecutive stops that allowed us to pull away."
PLU dominated the paint, enjoying a 36-16 edge in points in the paint and enjoyed a 44-28 rebounding advantage. The Lutes shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field and limited the Geoducks to shooting just 32.8 percent (19-for-58) on the night.
About the Eagles: Northwest (1-0) opened up its season with a bang on Nov. 3, crushing host Portland Bible 108-50.
The Eagles used an 18-0 run midway through the first half to break the game wide open, putting up 55 total points in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Northwest was simply dominant against the Archers, enjoying a 32-8 edge in points off turnovers, a 60-24 edge in points in the paint, and a 40-28 advantage in bench production. Northwest shot 58.5 percent from the field in the win while limiting PBC to shooting just 37.7 percent.
Four Eagles finished in double figures in the opener, with Antonio Salinas leading the way. Salinas dropped 21 points in just 26 minutes of play, shooting seven-for-nine from the floor and canning three treys. Lewis Pope added 16 with Manuel Zapater and O'Shae Barquet adding 14 and 13, respectively.
Miciah Hagan was the squad's top rebounder, hauling in seven while also adding nine points.
Home Cooking: The Lutes have made Olson Gymnasium a tough venue for opposing teams over the past three plus seasons. PLU has won 24 of it's last 32 home games, a stretch dating back to the end of the 2019-2020 campaign.
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.
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:
Dec. 10 vs. Douglas at 3 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