Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team finishes off the 2025 calendar year today, welcoming University of California Santa Cruz to Olson Gymnasium in a rematch from early November.
Series History: The Lutes and Banana Slugs have met 13 times since the series began in 1997-1998 with the Lutes holding an 8-5 advantage in the series. The two teams last met on Nov. 98 in Santa Cruz, a game the host Banana Slugs secured an 87-75 victory.
That game saw UCSC lead by just one point at the halftime break before pulling away in the second half. Dom Perasso and Henry Smith combined for 40 points in the loss for the Lutes while four Banana Slugs finished in double figures.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (6-2) dropped an 87-65 exhibition game to Division II Saint Martin's University on Dec. 18 but own a six-game winning streak in games that count. PLU's last setback was actually against today's opponent, falling 87-75 back on Nov. 9 to the Banana Slugs.
Since then, PLU has won six straight, including all five home games. That includes escaping Olson Gymnasium with a 64-61 win over Warner Pacific University on Dec. 12 and a 97-54 thrashing of Douglas College three days later.
Against Douglas, the homesteading Lutes were on fire in the first half, enjoying a 60-28 lead over the Royals at the break. Ben Tellez led the charge, scoring 27 points in just 20 minutes of action, draining six of his eight three-point attempts.
Ben Tellez is one of four Lutes averaging in double figures, leading the way with a 15.6 points per game average. Tellez is PLU's biggest threat from distance, shooting at a 43.1 percent clip from beyond the arc and sinking a team-best 22 threes.
Dom Perasso averages 13.8 ppg while Charlie Kapranos adds 12.4 ppg and a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game and 5.1 assists per game. Henry Smith is the fourth Lute dropping at least 10 a game, netting 11.3 ppg through the first eight games of the season.
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 Banana Slugs: UC Santa Cruz (6-6) heads to Tacoma well acquainted with the Northwest Conference. The Banana Slugs have played four NWC schools already this season and will have played a fifth— University of Puget Sound— the day prior to this showdown.
The Slugs have excelled against the NWC, winning all four meetings. Besides a win over the Lutes in November, UCSC also boasts an 87-61 neutral site win over Willamette University, a 97-67 shellacking of visiting George Fox University, and a 95-85 win over Lewis & Clark College.
UCSC's last game was back on Dec. 17, securing a 67-58 road win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, getting 16 points and 12 rebounds from Joseph Espy.
UCSC has four players averaging in double figures. Andrew Ferrar-Jones leads the way with 17.2 points per game but hasn't played in a game since November. Joseph Espy is the leading scorer amongst players who have played all 12 games, dropping 16.0 ppg and a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game. Leo Wagner adds 13.3 ppg, shooting 61.8 percent from the floor while Caden Breznikar adds 11.3 ppg.
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. 2 vs. George Fox at 7:30 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