Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball squad is back inside Olson Gymnasium, opening a two-game homestand tonight by welcoming Northwest Conference rival Pacific University to Tacoma.
Series History: The Lutes and Wildcats have battled 137 times since the series began during the 1939-1940 season with Pacific Lutheran enjoying a commanding 95-42 advantage in those games.
PLU has won the last four meetings and nine of the last 10. Last winter, the Lutes skated past the Boxers 77-60 on Jan. 25 inside Olson Gymnasium and posted a 73-63 win in Forest Grove on Feb. 21.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (7-6, 1-3 NWC) opened Northwest Conference play with a 75-73 win over George Fox University but its been tough sledding since, dropping games at the hands of Lewis & Clark College (73-59), University of Puget Sound (66-61), and Willamette University (81-76).
The Lutes trailed by as many as 25 points in the second half against Puget Sound before whittling the gap to just three with seconds to go in the game. Unfortunately, the Loggers did just enough down the stretch to run out the clock and collect the win. On Saturday, the Lutes led by three at the halftime break but the Bearcats pushed ahead in the second half, leading by as many as 13.
Ben Tellez drilled a three with 26 seconds left to make it a three-point game but the Lutes were unable to get any closer as a pair of Bearcats free throws was more than enough to stave off the comeback. Charlie Kapranos led the Lutes with 16 points on a night the Lutes held a 40-35 rebounding edge. Host Willamette won the turnover battle after the Lutes committed 21, helping give the Bearcats a 23-17 edge in points off turnovers and a 15-2 gap in fast break scoring.
Charlie Kapranos leads the Lutes in several statistical categories, including scoring (14.5 points per game), rebounding (8.9 rebounds per game), assists (4.4 assists per game), and blocks (six). Ben Tellez adds 13.6 ppg with Henry Smith offering 10.9 ppg. Tellez and Smith are both sharpshooters for PLU, both leading the team with 28 threes on the season. Dom Perasso is just under 10 a game, averaging 9.5 ppg.
As a team, PLU is averaging 74.9 ppg and is shooting at a 43.9 percent clip, including hitting 35.3 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.
Road to 100: Head Coach Chad Murray currently sits one win shy of 100 for his career as the Lutes' head coach. Now in his ninth year for the Lutes, Murray sits at 99 wins at PLU and 170 overall after collecting 71 over eight seasons at Cornell College in Iowa.
Lucky Seven: The Lutes are shooting for their seventh straight winning season under Head Coach Chad Murray. The PLU men's basketball program hasn't had seven consecutive winning seasons since doing so from 1965 to 1972 under the direction of PLU Hall of Fame Coach Gene Lundgaard.
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 Boxers:Â Pacific (5-8, 1-3 NWC) has a similar trajectory as the Lutes, winning its conference opener before dropping its next three league games.
The Boxers opened league play back on dec. 6, securing a 75-50 home win over Linfield University. Seven days later, Pacific extended its win streak to five with a 90-77 non-league triumph over Alma College. Since then, the Boxers have struggled, dropping their non-league finale 86-72 to Hamline University. Pacific fell twice in eastern Washington, succumbing 92-88 to Whitman College and coming up just short 81-79 against preseason favorite Whitworth University the following day. Last Saturday, the Boxers dropped another conference game by single digits, coming up short 70-65 against Lewis & Clark. That game saw Pacific trail by 13 halfway through the second half only to battle to within a single point with 81 seconds left. The Boxers missed their final two shots of the night while L&C made good on four free throws to fend off the comeback.
Anthony Hrboka is a scoring machine, leading the Boxers un scoring with a 22.6 points per game average. Hrboka dishes out a team-best 3.6 assists per game and has hit 44 threes on the season, shooting a deadly 41.5 percent from the peremiter. Hrboka is Pacific's only weapon with Ryder Mackay adding 11.7 ppg and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game while Lucas Gray adds 10.7 ppg. Max Vacco is a shade under 10 at 9.8 ppg with Brody Baumgartner tied for the team rebounding lead with 5.5.
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. 17 vs. Linfield 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