Setting the Scene: The Lutes open up a three-game homestand by welcoming Douglas College from Canada to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Royals have never met on the hardwood but PLU has faced off against Canadian opponents 77 times all-time, enjoying a 55-22 edge against the neighbors to the north.
The last time the Lutes have faced a Canadian opponent was during the 1994-1995 season, falling 88-69 and 71-66 to Simon Fraser before rolling Trinity Western 81-56.
About the Lutes: PLU (5-1, 1-1 NWC) saw its 10-game domination of crosstown rival University of Puget Sound come to a halt on Tuesday night, falling short 74-69 inside Memorial Field House.
The Lutes and Loggers (2-4, 1-1 NWC) went back and forth in the opening 12 minutes of the game with three lead changes and six ties. A Jason Montes trey made it 16-16 with 8:02 left in the half but the Loggers buried consecutive threes to touch off a 10-0 run.
PLU reduced the gap to six on pair of Brandin Riedel free throws but the homestanding Loggers headed to the halftime intermission with a 35-27 lead.
A Sam Noland layup closed the gap to a single possession with 11:16 remaining in the game but the Loggers scored the next 10, draining a pair of treys to establish its largest lead of the night at 60-47.
The Lutes battled back, reducing the gap to just five with 5:37 remaining on a Liam Johnston three before pulling within a possession on a Miles Nash trey with 60 seconds left. The Lutes had a pair of threes in the waning seconds that fell short while the hosts hit a pair of free throws with a split second left to snap PLU's 10-game win streak in the intracity rivalry.
"We got what we deserved tonight. I didn't have our guys ready to play so I'll take a look at that and adjust if needed," said Head Coach Chad Murray.
"I just didn't think our energy was great in the first half and give them credit they came out and punched us in the mouth. Brandin going out with four fouls early in the second half certainly didn't help but Jack Williams did great holding it down for us to have an opportunity for Brandin to come back and play some meaningful minutes."
Sam Noland paced the Lutes, scoring 22 points and shooting 10-for-16 from the floor. Miles Nash added 15 along with five rebounds while Brandin Riedel and Jason Montes both had 11. Johnston had a team-best six rebounds.
Puget Sound was electric from beyond the arc, canning 10 treys on the night and ending the contest shooting at a 47.6 percent clip.
"We knew that if they shot it well from three we were going to have a tough time. Some of their makes were from our inability to stay attached and some were just great shots at great times. We will regroup and get better from this. This team is still growing and finding themselves."
Sam Noland leads the Lutes, averaging 16.7 points per game while Miles Nash adds 14.0 ppg and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Brandin Riedel adds 12.8 ppg while Jason Montes averages a shade under 10 per game at 9.8 ppg.
PLU ranks second in the NWC in scoring defense, limiting the opposition to just 68.8 points per game while ranking second in field goal percentage (48.6 percent).
About the Royals: Douglas (2-10) opened the season with a pair of victories over Okanagan but have come up empty since, dropping their last 10 regular season games. That includes a pair of defeats at the hands of Columbia Bible (81-64 on Nov. 16 and 74-59 on Nov. 18).
Since then, the Royals have been playing exhibition games in the United States, dropping games to Division II Western Washington (122-61) and Washington junior colleges Skagit Valley (110-51) and Edmonds (100-71).
Douglas is a member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association and competes with six other schools in the Pacific Western Athletic Association.
Ekman Sohal leads the Royals in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game along with a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game while Luca Bonamici adds 9.1 ppg. Carson Lehnert chips in 9.0 ppg with Ebanehita Obetoh contributing 8.8 ppg.
Home Cooking: The Lutes have made Olson Gymnasium a tough venue for opposing teams over the past three plus seasons. PLU has won 25 of it's last 33 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. 15 vs. Northwest Indian 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