Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's hoops team returns to the court after the Thanksgiving holiday and closes out its season-opening five game homestand tonight, welcoming Douglas College to Olson Gymnasium.
Series History: The Lutes and Royals are meeting for just the second time ever. The two squads met last December inside Olson Gymnasium with PLU thumping visiting Douglas 96-52. That game saw Brandin Riedel drop 18 points, shooting eight-for-nine from the floor as the Lutes scored 60 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.
About the Lutes: Ben Tellez dropped a career-high 19 points for PLU (1-3) but it was Hamilton College that stole the limelight on Nov. 25, drilling a go-ahead layup with 1.1 seconds left to earn the 60-58 victory in a non-conference men's basketball showdown inside Olson Gymnasium.
The game was tied at 58 as the Continentals' Jalen Reese inbounded to Hank Morgan who drilled a layup with 1.1 seconds remaining to put the visitors up two. The Lutes attempted to go coast-to-coast but the buzzer sounded before Miles Nash was able to hoist a winning three-pointer.
"That was a knock down, drag out fight tonight," said Head Coach Chad Murray.
"We're really pleased with our response when we went down eight with about five minutes to go. We got a couple of timely three's by Ben and Henry that came after a couple of tough stops to give us some life. And then it just came down to some free throws and execution on both ends. They unfortunately executed that last play really well and it cost us."
Monday's game featured five lead changes and nine ties. Hamilton (4-1) scored seven straight points to build a game-high eight point advantage with 5:25 left in the game. PLU quickly negated that lead, tying the game just over two minutes later after getting a pair of threes from Tellez and another from Henry Smith.
Neither team would lead by more than two points the rest of the way. A Nash free throw with 45 ticks left tied the game at 56 only to see the Continentals push ahead on a layup with 20 seconds remaining. Julian Brown made it 58 all with 5.6 seconds left before Hamilton tallied the winning bucket on the inbounds play with 1.1 ticks to go.
The Lutes seized an early lead scoring the game's opening six points and eight of the first 10. The Continentals hung around, tying the game with 7:48 left in the first half on a four-point play— sinking a three and drawing the foul. Hamilton would take its first lead of the night on another three with 6:18 left in the half. PLU tied the game but another Continental three, this one with 63 seconds left, gave the visitors a 28-25 halftime advantage.
Neither team led by more than four points in the opening 14 minutes of the second half before Hamilton's 7-0 run.
Tellez had just 12 points in the opening three games of the season before poured on a career-best 19 points, shooting six-of-10 from the field and three-for-four from beyond the arc. Dom Perasso added 10 points and seven rebounds while Julian Brown had seven points. Nash had a team-best five assists while Brandin Riedel had eight rebounds and three steals.
Miles Nash headlines the Lute scoring attack in the first four games of 2024-2025, averaging 13.3 points per game while also adding 5.5 rebounds per game. Dom Perasso adds 9.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg while Mack hepper contributes 9.0 ppg. Brandin Riedel has been a force on the boards, leading the team with 6.8 rpg.
The Lutes are shooting 43.8 percent as a team this season, averaging 70.3 points per game.
About the Royals: Douglas (4-8) heads to the United States after splitting a pair of games on the road against Okanagan College. The Royals blew past the Coyotes 84-69 last Friday behind a 22-point performance from Jeevan Sidhu while Eve Illica dropped 26 the following night in a 78-71 setback to Okanagan.
Jeevan Sidhu leads the Royals, averaging 13.2 points per game in the opening 12 games of 2024-2025. Scottie Austin adds 12.7 ppg with Efe Ilica a hair under 10 at 9.8 ppg. Ilica leads the team on the glass with 8.9 rebounds per game with Sidhu averaging 6.3.
Douglas College is based in New Westminster, British Columbia and is a member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pacific West Conference.
Home Sweet Home: Olson Gymnasium is a tough venue for opposing teams with the Lutes boasting a 31-15 record inside the facility since the 2020-2021 season.
Luteville Highlights
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
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.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
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. 28: UC Santa Cruz at 6 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
Credits:
Lindsey Clark & Emily Wilburn