Setting the Scene: The Lutes close out their homestand tonight, looking to remain perfect inside Olson Gymnasium as they take on Portland Bible College.
Series History: The Lutes and Archers are meeting for the eight time with PLU owning a 6-1 edge in the all-time series that started during the 2011-2012 season.
The two squads have met in each of the last two seasons with PLU prevailing 78-41 in Portland last winter while the Lutes throttled PBC 84-46 inside Olson back in 2021.
PLU's lone blemish in the series was a 69-64 setback in Portland in 2017.
About the Lutes: PLU (7-1) eclipsed the 90-point barrier for the second consecutive game on Friday night, smashing Northwest Indian College 92-66 inside Olson Gymnasium.
The visiting Eagles (2-16) made the Lutes (7-1) break a sweat early in the game, jumping out to an 8-5 lead. Undaunted, the homestanding Lutes battled back with a Sam Noland three tying the game and touching off a 13-0 Lute run. It was Noland again to cap off the spurt, scoring a layup with 11:50 remaining in the first half as PLU led 18-8.
NWIC reduced the gap to seven points with 9:46 left in the first half before the Lutes tallied 25 of the next 27 points, taking a 31-point lead on a Miles Nash jumper with 1:39 remaining and enjoying a 48-22 lead at the halftime intermission.
PLU maintained at least a 21-point cushion the entire second half to improve to 4-0 at home this season.
Nash led all scorers with 22 points while adding nine rebounds, hitting nine of his 13 shits from the floor. Reigning NWC Player of the Week Sam Noland added 19 while Bradin Riedel had nine points and five assists. Jason Montes had three steals awhile Mack Hepper hauled down eight rebounds.
PLU outmuscled Northwest Indian 51-21 on the glass, including a 19-4 discrepancy in offensive rebounds. That contributed to a 22-4 Lute edge in second chance points while also owning a 44-34 edge in points in the paint.
PLU ranks 11th nationally (out of 412 teams in NCAA Division III) in field goal percentage, draining an NWC-leading 49.7 percent of its shots.
The Lutes rank first in the NWC in scoring defense, allowing just 66.4 points per game and sit second in the league in scoring margin at +13.9.
Individually, Sam Noland leads the conference in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game. Miles Nash leads the Lutes on the glass and sits sixth in the NWC in both rebounding (6.4 rebounds per game) and assists (3.5 per game).
About the Archers: Members of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), Portland Bible (0-12) heads to Tacoma still in search of its first win of the season.
The Archers last played Division I Eastern Washington, getting blown out 103-34 on the road by the Eagles.
PBC is no stranger to the Northwest Conference, having already faced four of the nine teams in the league. That includes dropping two games against George Fox (114-51 & 100-58), two games to Pacific (102-32 & 100-58), two games to Lewis & Clark (98-60 & 83-51) and a game to Linfield (95-32).
Tristen Arias leads the Archers in scoring, dropping 9.1 points per game with Trevor Vermillion PBC's top rebounder, hauling in 5.3 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 27 of it's last 35 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.
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:
Jan. 5 vs. George Fox 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