Jan. 17, 2007

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes Host George Fox, Pacific

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran returns home to Olson Auditorium to face the George Fox Bruins at 8 p.m. Friday and the Pacific Boxers at 8 p.m. Saturday.

BRUINS TO VISIT OLSON: The first weekend match-up for the Lutes is against George Fox. The Bruins are coming into Friday’s game with an 7-7 overall record and a 3-3 Northwest Conference record, while the PLU men post a 6-7 overall record and a 3-3 Northwest Conference mark as well. Last weekend the Bruin’s hosted the Willamette Bearcats on Friday and came away with a 72-52 conference victory, and then traveled to Pacific University on Saturday but came up on the short end as the Boxers defeated GFU, 64-57. The Bruins average 71.4 points and are allowing slightly more points a game at 71.6. George Fox has three players that are averaging double figures in points a game this season. Senior post Chris Parker has been scoring 15.5 points a game, grabbing 4.6 rebounds, and shooting 53 percent from the field. Phil Heu-Weller is averaging similar numbers at 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds a game. Heu-Weller, by the way, is the younger brother of Jenne Heu-Weller, who was an all-conference volleyball player for Pacific Lutheran from 2000-03.

SURPRISE PACIFIC: The Lutes conclude the weekend with a match-up against the Pacific Boxers. So far this season the Boxers are surprising the Northwest Conference with an 8-6 overall record and a 4-2 conference mark. Pacific is currently on a three-game winning streak with a shocking defeat of Puget Sound on Jan. 6, an 80-75 overtime win over Lewis & Clark on Jan. 9, and a 64-57 victory over the Bruins last Saturday. The Boxers must face Linfield on Friday before they make the trip to PLU. Pacific is 2-4 on the road this season, including 1-2 at conference schools. Sophomore forward Ross Bartlett leads the Boxers with an average of 13.2 points and 10.5 rebounds in six conference games this season. Bartlett is second in rebounding for the Northwest Conference. Junior forward Joe Van Domelen is scoring 12.7 points a game this season and shooting 64 percent from the field in conference action.

LUTES SPLIT ON EASTSIDE TRIP: The PLU men traveled to eastern Washington last weekend and defeated Whitman College on Friday, 100-96, and fell to the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday, 80-56. Jared Brandeberry scored a career-high 33 points and Kurt Oliver added a season-high 23 in the victory over Whitman. The Lutes were able to overcome the stellar performance put in by Kyle Born. The Whitman center, who two weeks ago tied a Northwest Conference single-game record with 53 points in a loss at Redlands, scored 27 points and grabbed 23 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. The Missionaries led 47-45 at halftime and were up 65-59 with 11:34 left to play in the second half. With the teams deadlocked at 75, Pacific Lutheran pulled away on a 12-5 run and stretched its lead to 94-84 with just over two minutes remaining. Whitman made a final push and closed to within three points at 97-94. After the Lutes turned the ball over with 27 seconds left, Whitman's Chris Faidley misfired on a three-point attempt that would have tied the score. Oliver made three of four free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win. Josh Dressler added 18 points and Josh Vanlandingham contributed 10 points for the victorious Lutes. Saturday was a different story against Whitworth. Josh Dressler did his best to keep the Lutes in the game with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Jared Brandeberry added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds. The Pirates, who lead the nation in field goal percentage, shot 60 percent (15-of-25) in the second half as they steadily pulled away from the Lutes behind their three big men. After the Lutes opened a 19-14 lead on a three pointer by Gabe Smith with 11:27 to go in the first half, Whitworth went on a 21-4 run to grab a 36-23 advantage with six minutes to go in the half. The Pirates eventually took a 41-30 lead to the locker room. PLU got within 45-39 after a three pointer by Brandeberry almost four minutes into the second half, but Colin Willemsen scored inside to key a quick 6-0 run. PLU was still within 59-50 with 10:23 to play before Whitworth closed the game on a 21-6 scoring run. Whitworth forwards Ryan Symes and Willemsen, along with center Kevin Hasenfus, combined for 52 of the Pirates’ points.

HOME SWEET BIG O: The Lutes return to Olson Auditorium, where they are 3-2 this season and 2-1 in conference games. Not only are there more wins at home for the Lutes but they score quite a bit more points, too. On the road PLU is averaging 71.8 points, while in the Big O the Lutes are averaging 90.2. The Lutes are also playing better defense at home holding their opponents to 82.6 points compared to 88.9 points on the road.

BRANDEBERRY HAS CAREER GAME: Junior wing Jared Brandeberry had a career game last Friday in the Lutes' win over Whitman. Brandeberry scored 33 points, snagged nine rebounds, and was 4-of-6 from three-point land. The junior passed his previous career record when he scored 25 points in a Dec. 2 win over Willamette. For the season, Brandeberry is averaging 13.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 43.8 percent from behind the three-point arc.

ALUMNI NIGHT: Saturday’s game against Pacific will also be PLU Men’s Basketball Alumni Night. The men’s program dates back to 1938 and has a rich tradition of success. All basketball alumni from the men's program are encouraged to attend with a reception being held at halftime. Tip-off for the game is 8 p.m.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Lutes hit the road after this weekend with three away games. Next weekend PLU opens the second half of the conference schedule, traveling to Oregon to play Linfield on Friday night and Willamette on Saturday night, and then travels across town to play UPS on Jan. 30.

-PLU-