Setting the Scene: The Lutes close out the season and honor its 2024 seniors today, welcoming in-state rival Whitman to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: PLU and Whitman have met 128 times on the hardwood since the series started during the 1953-1954 season, with the Lutes enjoying a 77-51 advantage in the all-time series.
The Washington rivals last met on Jan. 21 in Walla Walla with the Blues earning an 82-68 victory. Sam Noland led the Lutes with 17 points but a 13-3 spurt midway through the first half put the host Blues in the driver's seat on their way to the 14-point win.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (13-10, 6-8 NWC) returns to Olson Gymnasium riding a two-game win streak. The Lutes slipped past Pacific 73-65 last Friday night before taking down Lewis & Clark 74-63 the following day.
Miles Nash headlined the Lutes road victories in Oregon, averaging 23.5 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, and 4.0 assists per game over the weekend.
Against Pacific, the Lutes trailed by nine with 15:26 left in the game before scoring 13 of the next 15 to take the lead. The Boxers briefly reclaimed the lead but Pau scored the next eight points and held a lead the rest of the way to cement the win. Nash headlined the night with a career-high 24 points and 13 boards.
The following night against the Pioneers was a tight game early before a Mack Hepper trey sparked a 13-2 run to stake a double-digit Lute lead. PLU would never look back on a night Nash dropped 23 points and Brandin Riedel added 13.
The Lutes rank 27th nationally (out of 412 NCAA Division III teams) in field goal percentage, hitting 48.1 percent of its shots while leading the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 71.8 points per game. PLU additionally leads the conference in rebounding margin at +4.8.
Miles Nash leads the Lutes in scoring, rebounding, and assists, dropping 15.3 points per game with a 6.5 rebounds per game average while dishing out a team-high 84 assists this winter.
Riedel leads the NWC and ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage, sinking 64.4 percent of his shots on the season while averaging 14.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg. Sam Noland drops 12.0 ppg while Jason Montes is the fourth Lute in double figures, netting 10.4 ppg.
About the Blues: Whitman (17-6, 11-3 NWC) heads into the weekend riding a three-game win streak and is chasing Whitworth for the top seed for the 2024 NWC Tournament.
The Blues fell 92-74 to Whitworth back on Jan. 30 but have yet to lose in February, edging Lewis & Clark 80-71 on Feb. 2 before earning a 95-77 victory over George Fox last Friday and an 82-52 thrashing of Linfield last Saturday.
Jander Cline dropped 19 points in the win over George Fox, one of five Whitman players in double figures while four Blues were in double digits in the blowout win over Linfield with Cline and Jai Deshpande leading the way with 15 points apiece.
Jai Deshpande is the NWC's leading scorer, averaging 18.9 points per game with Jander Cline offering 14.8 ppg and 5.2 rebounds per game. Ali Eve Isik drops 13.3 ppg with Isaih Amato chipping in 10.3 ppg.
Thank You Seniors!
This year's senior class have won 51 games over the last four years, including winning the NWC title in 2021-2022!
Home Cooking: The Lutes have made Olson Gymnasium a tough venue for opposing teams over the past three plus seasons. PLU has won 31 of it's last 42 home games, a stretch dating back to the end of the 2019-2020 campaign.
The Lutes have been a tough team to play at home this season (8-3) and combined with volleyball and women's basketball are 25-7 inside Olson Gymnasium during the 2023-2024 academic year!
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.
Thank You For Your Continued Support of Lute Athletics!
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