Feb. 13, 2007

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes Hit Road for Finals Games of the Season

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran travels to George Fox University on Friday for an 8 p.m. game and plays at the University of Pacific on Saturday at 8 p.m.

BRUIN’S AND LUTES SQUARE OFF: The Lutes will face the George Fox Bruins for the second time this season but this game takes place in Newburg, Ore. On Jan. 19, the Bruins came to PLU and defeated the Lutes 77-68 in the Big “O”. Poor shooting didn’t help the Lutes cause as they shot just 38 percent from the field. Chris Parker also scored a career high 32 points for the Bruins and Brent Satern added 17 points. Junior wing Jared Brandeberry led the Lutes with 19 points while junior guard Kurt Oliver scored 11 points. George Fox is currently 12-11 overall, 7-7 in Northwest Conference play and sits in fourth place behind Puget Sound while PLU stands at 8-13 overall, 5-9 in the NWC. Parker leads the Bruins in scoring and is the fifth leading scorer in the NWC at 16 points a game.

LUTES HOPE TO BOX OUT PACIFIC: Pacific Lutheran and the Boxers last played on Jan. 20 in Olson Auditorium. The Lutes narrowly defeated Pacific 69-67 thanks to big game from junior post Scott McDaniels who scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Senior wing Josh Vanlandingham scored 14 points and senior guard Lawrence Brooks came off the bench to score 12 points for the victorious Lutes. The Boxers had a big contribution from sophomore forward Ross Bartlett, who scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Boxer win. Pacific is 10-12 overall, 6-8 in conference play. The Lutes sit right behind the Boxers in the conference standings. Pacific is led by junior guard Donnie Harrison-Davis who is averaging 14.6 points a game and Bartlett, who is scoring 13.7 points and snagging 8.9 rebounds a game.

LAST WEEKEND: The Lutes completed their home portion of the season last weekend with games against Whitman and Whitworth in the Big “O”. On Friday PLU and Whitman went back and forth to the wire until Oliver hit the game winning three pointer for the Lutes. PLU held a 60-51 lead with 7:08 when Chris Faidley led a Whitman comeback by hitting back-to-back three-point field goals to cut the Lutes’ lead to three points. Faidley drained another three-pointer to make the score 66-63 with 2:03 remaining, and Kyle Born hit yet another three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to knot the score at 68-68. Born hit a shot with 7.8 seconds left to put Whitman ahead 70-68, but Oliver’s three pointer as time expired gave PLU the victory. The Whitman coaching staff did not agree with the call, but the referees had called the shot good, and then left the floor. Brandeberry scored 18 points for PLU, all coming from beyond the arc. McDaniels scored 18 as well and sophomore guard Josh Dressler chipped in 16 points. On Saturday, the tide turned a bit as the Lutes were on the other end of a game winning shot. With his team trailing 63-60, Oliver hit a three-point basket from the top of the key with 10.3 seconds, tying the game at 63-63. Whitworth senior James Jones scored on a reverse layup with 2.1 seconds left to lead the Pirates to a 65-63 victory over the Lutes. Brandeberry led the Lutes again with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Vanlandingham scored 13 points coming off the bench.

BRANDEBERRY HAS HOT WEEKEND: For his performances against Whitman and Whitworth last weekend, Jared Brandeberry was nominated as an honorable mention player of the week for the Northwest Conference. In the two games, Brandeberry averaged 16.5 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. He also went 9-11 from the three point land for 81.8 percent. For the season, Brandeberry is fourth in the Northwest Conference in three point shooting, making 13-21 this season for 44.7 percent in conference play.

FOLLOW THE LUTES ON THE ROAD: Follow the Lutes in action this weekend by listening to games on KLAY 1180 AM. The broadcasts will also be on the worldwide web at www.klay1180.com and on the PLU Athletics website, www.plu.edu/athletics. PLU is proud to have Hall of Fame sports broadcaster Bob Robertson calling Lute women’s and men’s basketball contests.

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