Jan. 7, 2008

MEN’S BASKETBALL: It’s 2-0 Lutes Versus 2-0 Loggers

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Puget Sound, Tuesday, 8 p.m.; PLU hosts Willamette, Saturday, 8 p.m.

Jared Brandeberry

Scott McDaniels

Josh Dressler

LUTES VERSUS LOGGERS: A pair of teams that are 2-0 after the first week of Northwest Conference play will go head-to-head Tuesday night when the Pacific Lutheran Lutes (6-4 overall) take on the Puget Sound Loggers (9-1 overall) at Memorial Fieldhouse on the UPS campus. The Loggers, ranked No. 9 in this week’s d3hoops.com national poll, have won nine straight games in the series against Pacific Lutheran, though the Lutes lead the overall series, 62-59. Puget Sound does have a longer winning streak in the series, taking 12 straight from 1968-97 (the two teams did not play each other from 1977-97). PLU won 21 straight games spanning 1954-61 against the Loggers. Pacific Lutheran last defeated Puget Sound in 2003 by a 49-46 score. Last season, UPS defeated PLU twice, 108-96 in Olson Auditorium and 89-86 at the UPS Memorial Fieldhouse.

ABOUT THE LOGGERS: Puget Sound, picked to finish second in the conference standings behind Lewis & Clark, is playing outstanding basketball under second-year coach and PLU graduate Justin Lunt. The Loggers are playing their typical brand of up-tempo, full-court pressure basketball, and they are scoring 96.4 points per game to 77.4 for their opponents. In addition, the Loggers are forcing their foes into an average of almost 25 turnovers per game. Point guard Antwan Williams leads the high-scoring attack with 17.9 points per game, followed by Robert Krauel with 14.9 per game, Jason Foster with 14.8 and Taylor Marsh with 13.4. That foursome is the spearhead of a deep and talented team.

LUTES HOST WILLAMETTE: The Lutes open the home portion of their Northwest Conference schedule at 8 p.m. Saturday when they host the Willamette Bearcats. The Bearcats are 1-1 in conference play this year but host George Fox on Friday night prior to traveling north on I-5 to face the Lutes in Parkland. The Bearcats, coached by long-time mentor Gordy James, were picked to finish sixth in the conference standings this season. Willamette, 3-8 so far this season, is led by the 1-2 scoring punch of Kyler McClary and Mike Smith, who average15.2 points and 15.0 points per game, respectively.

HOME, FINALLY: Saturday’s game against Willamette will be only the third time that the Lutes have played in on their home court this season. Earlier, they defeated Northwest 63-60, and beat Simon Fraser 65-62 in an exhibition. PLU has played a total of 11 games (including the exhibition), five on opponents’ courts and four on neutral courts.

PLU STARTS NWC WITH TWO ROAD WINS: Pacific Lutheran got off to a good start in the Northwest Conference with a pair of road wins last weekend. The Lutes benefited from some George Fox charity on Friday night in a 61-58 win in Newberg, Ore., and they scored at a record-setting pace in the second half of a 108-95 win over No. 16-ranked Lewis & Clark on Saturday night in Portland.

LUTES 61, GEORGE FOX 58: George Fox made only 3-of-11 free throws in the final 6:45 of the game, allowing PLU to rally from an 11-point deficit. The Bruins led by as much as 12 points in the second half and were up 55-44 with 6:45 left after a layup by Mark Metzler when they suddenly went ice-cold from everywhere. In addition to their charity stripe woes, which included misses on all three of their one-and-one opportunities, the Bruins went 0-for-6 from the field. The Lutes reeled off 11 unanswered points, starting with back-to-back three-pointers by Kyle MacTaggart and Josh Dressler, PLU’s only threes of the night. Jared Brandeberry, playing his first game of the season after coming back from a fracture in his left foot, gave the Lutes the lead with two free throws, and Dressler iced the game with two freebies with nine seconds to play. Scott McDaniels scored 16 points before fouling out to lead the Lutes, while Dressler added 12 and Landon Heidenreich tallied 11. PLU shot .333 (18-for-54) from the floor, made only .118 (2-for-17) from three-point range, and .719 (23-for-32) from the line. MacTaggart had a game-high nine boards for the Lutes.

LUTES 108, LEWIS & CLARK 95: The Lutes, picked by conference coaches to place fifth in the Northwest Conference this year, stunned preseason favorite Lewis & Clark, 108-95, at Pamplin Sports Center. The outcome ended a string of 15 consecutive home court victories for the Pioneers. The Lutes held a 40-35 advantage at halftime and then went on a record-setting scoring spree with 68 second-half points. The 68 points sets a record for most points by a PLU men’s basketball team in a half. The previous record of 65 points was set against Northwest in 1989. With six ties and six lead changes in the second half, the Lutes broke a 69-69 deadlock on Jared Brandeberry's three-point shot with eight minutes remaining, and they would never trail again. Clinging to a 96-91 lead with about one minute to play, the Lutes used strong free throw shooting to ice the game. Josh Dressler and Brandeberry both hit a pair of charity tosses, and Gabe Smith made six without a miss as the Lutes pulled away for the win. In fact, free throw shooting proved to be a big difference in the game as the Lutes made 25-of-33 attempts while the Pioneers attempted 11, making nine of those. McDaniels had a big game for the Lutes with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Brandeberry, playing only his second game after coming back from a fractured left foot, buried 24 points. Dressler finished the game with 23 points and Smith ended up with 14 more. Both teams shot the ball well, the visiting Lutes hitting 55 percent from the field, including 44 percent (11-of-25) from beyond the three-point arc. Lewis & Clark had even more impressive numbers, knocking down 59 percent overall and 46 percent (12-of-26) from long range.

DRESSLER EARNS PLAYER OF WEEK HONORS: For the second time this season, junior wing Josh Dressler has earned Northwest Conference Player of the Week honors. The award covered a two-week period in which Dressler averaged 25.8 points in five games, including a pair of NWC road victories. On Dec. 28, he scored a school-record 48 points versus Ramapo (N.J.). Dressler earned the honor for the second time this season, the first coming on Dec. 10. Dressler’s teammate, Scott McDaniels, won the award on Nov. 19, giving the Lutes three winners in seven weeks. Last year, Jared Brandeberry earned NWC Player of the Week honors, becoming the first PLU player since Neil Mendez in 2001 to be so honored.

HEAR IT ON KLAY 1180 AM: Pacific Lutheran’s conference basketball games can be heard live in the Tacoma-Parkland area on KLAY 1180 AM with Hall of Fame announcer Bob Robertson calling the action. The games are also available online at www.klay1180.com.

- PLU -