Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team opens up the 2026 calendar year and Northwest Conference play tonight, hosting Oregon rival George Fox University inside Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: This will be the 60th all-time meeting between the Lutes and Bruins since the series began during the 1985-1986 season. PLU holds a 32-27 edge in the series but its been all Bruins as of late with GFU winning the last six meetings.
That includes the Bruins prevailing 75-70 last January inside Olson Gymnasium and claiming an 80-65 victory on Feb. 7 in Newberg, Oregon.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (6-3) saw its six game win streak snapped on Sunday, falling 77-70 in overtime to the University of California Santa Cruz. That game saw the Lutes trail by as many as 17 points in the second half before closing regulation on a 23-6 run to force an extra five minute session. The game was tied at 68 in overtime before the visiting Banana Slugs used a 7-0 run to surge ahead and secure the win, their second over the Lutes this season.
Despite the loss, the Lutes received a Herculean effort from Charlie Kapranos who dropped 23 points and had seven rebounds and three steals while Ben Tellez tallied 11 points.
Sandwiched between the two games against UCSC was six wins for the Lutes, prevailing over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (72-58), University of Dallas (81-67), Nebraska Wesleyan University (75-57), Evergreen State College (77-73), Warner Pacific University (64-61), and Douglas College (97-54).
Ben Tellez is the Lutes' scoring leader through the first nine games of the season, dropping 15.1 points per game and draining a team-high 23 threes. Charle Kapranos adds 13.6 ppg and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game while also dishing out a team-best 4.8 assists per game.
Dom Perasso adds 12.7 ppg with Henry Smith collecting 11 ppg. Smith is another Lute sharpshooter with 20 threes on the season.
As a team, PLU is averaging 78.0 points per game and owns a +8.2 scoring margin.
Road to 100: Head Coach Chad Murray currently sits two wins shy of 100 for his career as the Lutes' head coach. Now in his ninth year for the Lutes, Murray sits at 98 wins at PLU and 169 overall after collecting 71 over eight seasons at Cornell College in Iowa.
Lutes in the Limelight: The Lutes have won three 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 Nov. 18 and again on Dec. 8.
About the Bruins:Â George Fox (1-9, 0-1 NWC) looks to start the New Year on the right foot and bust out of a six-game slump. The Bruins steamrolled Northwest Indian College 97-68 back on Nov. 22 but its been tough sledding since dropping games at the hands of California Lutheran University (99-86), New York University (105-69), Willamette University (81-61), UC Santa Cruz (97-67), Asbury College (123-117 in 3 OT), and Hamline University (80-53).
GFU's wild triple overtime game against Asbury saw Sydney Natche drop 40 points, shooting 13-for-19 from the floor while Donovan Cooks and Noah Marie added 26 points and 20 points, respectively.
The Bruins opened NWC play back on Dec. 5 against Willamette. GFU held a four point lead with 6:25 left in the first half but was held scoreless the rest of the half as the visiting Bearcats finished on a 14-0 run and never looked back in the 20-point victory.
Sydney Natche is the Bruin's leading scorer with 17.0 points per game through the first 10 games. Donovan Cooks boasts a 14.0 ppg average in his three appearances while Noah Marte has been a big presence off the bench, adding 12.9 ppg. Cody Schramm is the leading rebounder for GFU, hauling in 6.0 rpg.
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:
Jan. 3 vs. Lewis & Clark at 5 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