Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team closes out its opening homestand tonight, welcoming Nebraska Wesleyan University to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: This is the first ever meeting between the Lutes and Prairie Wolves. While its the first meeting its not the first time PLU has played a team from the Cornhusker State, owning a 1-1 record against Nebraska schools having previously played both Hastings College and Dana College. The Lutes also have a 6-6 record all-time against the American Rivers Conference, having last played an ARC team in 2017-2018— a 71-48 setback to Central College (Iowa) at the D3Hoops.com Classic.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (1-2) overcame a sluggish start to blow past Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 72-58 last Friday night in the home opener inside Olson Gymnasium. PLU closed the first half on a 23-6 run, turning a two-point deficit into a 15-point cushion. The Lutes held at least a seven-point buffer the entire second half en route to the win. Charlie Kapranos headlined the day, scoring a career-high 29 points while hauling in 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. The sophomore was recognized by the conference office on Monday, earning NWC Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
The home victory came after opening the season on the road in California where the Lutes dropped a pair of games to tough opponents. PLU opened the regular season against sixth-ranked University of Redlands, owning a double digit lead early before eventually succumbing 94-91 before getting outscored over the final 20 minutes in an 87-75 setback to host University of California Santa Cruz.
Four Lutes head into the weekend averaging in double figures with Dom Perasso and Ben Tellez leading the way, both averaging 15.0 points per game. Perasso has been the hot hand, shooting 61.3 percent from the floor while Tellez had been a deep threat, hitting a team-best seven threes this winter while also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.
Charlie Kapranos adds 14.0 ppg and a team-high 7.7 rpg while Henry Smith adding 11.3 ppg.
Lutes in the Limelight: The Lutes have won the first two NWC Player of the Week awards of the season. Dom Perasso was recognized for his output during the California trip on Nov. 11 while Charlie Kapranos secured the award on Monday for his exploits in the win over Pomona-Pitzer.
About the Prairie Wolves: Nebraska Wesleyan (1-2) heads to Tacoma after splitting a pair of games at the Central Bank Classic hosted by Buena Vista University.
The Prairie Wolves opened the 2025-2026 campaign on the road, coming up short 78-62 against 18th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a game the host Pioneers pulled away in during the second half.
Last weekend, NWU was at the Central Bank Classic, securing a 78-67 victory over University of Minnesota-Morris before getting edged by College of Saint Scholastica 78-75 the following day. NWU trailed by seven at the half against UM-Morris but outscored the Cougars 42-24 in the second half with Neal Mosser coming off the bench and leading the team with 18 points in just 19 minutes of action.
The script was flipped the following day with the Prairie Wolves owning a three-point halftime advantage before letting it slip away in the second half.
Neal Mosser has been a spark off the bench all season, leading the team with 14.7 points per game and shooting an out of this world 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from three-point range. Christian Winn is the only other player in double figures, adding 13.3 ppg. Seth Newton is the leading rebounder for NWU, hauling in 8.3 per game.
Staying in State: The Lutes opened the season in California but is in the midst of playing 11 straight games inside the State of Washington. That includes nine home games inside Olson Gymnasium— three of which to start Northwest Conference play. Sandwiched around those home games will be a short trip down I-5 to face both Evergreen State College and Saint Martin's University.
NWC Coaches' Poll
This October, the Lutes were picked to finish tied for third in the league standings with crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound, both collecting 44 points. NWC heavyweight Whitworth sat atop the poll with 64 points.
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 Game:
Dec. 12 vs. Warner Pacific 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