MEN’S BASKETBALL: High-Scoring Lutes Face Stifling Whitworth 'D'

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (7-5, 3-1 NWC) hosts Whitworth (9-3, 3-1), Friday, 8 p.m.; PLU hosts Whitman (3-8, 0-4), Saturday, 6 p.m.

STORIED SERIES: The Lutes have faced the Pirates 122 times entering Friday’s meeting, third most in school history behind Central Washington (146) and Western Washington (132). PLU leads the all-time series 63-59, with Whitworth winning the past three. Last season, the Pirates beat the Lutes easily in Spokane, 80-56, before narrowly edging PLU on the road, 65-63.

ABOUT THE PIRATES: The defending Northwest Conference co-champions rely on a stifling defense to win games. Whitworth leads the league in scoring defense, giving up only 56 points per game, as well as scoring margin, averaging 17.7 more points per game than its opponents. The Pirates thrive on sound fundamental basketball, holding opponents to a league-best .390 shooting percentage (.258 from three-point range), while dominating the boards for a plus-10.1 rebounding margin, more than eight rebounds better than second-ranked Willamette (+2.0). The Pirates also lead the league with 16.67 assists per game, an astounding feat considering they score nearly 26 points per game less than second-ranked Puget Sound (15.42). The Pirates’ 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio speak to their incredible ball handling, and their league-leading 14 offensive rebounds per game give the offense constant second chance opportunities. Position-by-position, Whitworth boasts the biggest starting lineup in the conference, preventing a very tough matchup for a Pacific Lutheran team that has scored 100+ points in three consecutive games for the first time since the 1971-72 season and only the second time in school history. The Lutes will try to set a new school record with their fourth straight 100-point performance, but Whitworth boasts undoubtedly the toughest defense the Lutes will face all season.

LOPSIDED PAST: Unlike the relatively even all-time series against the Pirates, the Lutes’ 91 previous meetings with the Missionaries have often been one-sided. Pacific Lutheran owns a .703 all-time winning percentage against Whitman, second best among teams PLU has played more than 75 times (.748 winning percentage in 103 games against Pacific). Last season, the Lutes narrowly defeated the Missionaries in both meetings, earning a 100-96 win in Walla Walla and a 71-70 victory at home.

ABOUT THE MISSIONARIES: On Saturday, the Lutes follow up the dominant Pirate defense by facing a struggling Whitman team that is mired at the bottom of the Northwest Conference standings, still seeking its first league win. The Missionaries are a very young team, with only one senior on their roster, and their inexperience has shown often so far this season. While Whitworth rests at the top of the conference in seemingly every statistical category, Whitman finds itself much closer to the bottom. Its –6.0 scoring margin is better than only Pacific’s –8.8, and its –3.9 rebounding margin is worst in the league. Ball control is often a struggle for the Missionaries, who have a conference-worst –2.64 turnover margin. Whitman thrives at the charity stripe, however, with a third-ranked .727 free throw percentage. The Lutes will have to look to exploit Whitman’s defensive deficiencies and avoid unnecessary fouls that will play to the Missionaries greatest strength.

A SCHEDULE NOTE: PLU fans should take note that Saturday's women's and men's games against Whitman start two hours earlier than normal. The women tip off at 4 p.m., with the men's game scheduled to begin at about 6 p.m. This schedule, which is copied when the Lutes travel to eastern Washington later this year, accommodates the visiting teams traveling back to their home campuses.

LUTES FALL IN SHOOTOUT: Despite a record-setting 41-point effort by Scott McDaniels, the No. 9-ranked Puget Sound Loggers pulled out a dramatic 125-116 double-overtime victory over the Pacific Lutheran Lutes at Memorial Fieldhouse. McDaniels, a senior post from Sammamish, set a new PLU men's basketball record with 18 field goals (in 24 attempts), breaking the former record of 17 set by Dan Gibbs against Whitworth on Jan. 25, 1986. In addition, two Pacific Lutheran single-game scoring records were broken. The teams combined for 241 points, erasing the former record of 234 set in 2001 when Linfield defeated PLU, 119-115, in overtime. With 116 points, the Lutes also set a record for most points scored in a losing cause. The Lutes put the pressure on the Loggers from the beginning, leading by as many as 10 points on five different occasions in the first half. Though hobbled by a sore left foot, Jared Brandeberry scored 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the opening half, including a trio of long three-point baskets. McDaniels had his way inside, scoring 20 points in the period. The Lutes took their final 10-point lead at 57-47 on Gregory Bogdan's layup with 44 seconds left in the half. A final three-point shot by Antwan Williams made the halftime score 57-50 in favor of the Lutes. The Lutes continued their outstanding play in the second half and led by as much as 14 on two occasions, the final time at 84-70 on Kyle MacTaggart's jumper with 11:20 remaining in the game. Robert Krauel scored nine points during a 16-2 Puget Sound surge, however, and Krauel's layup knotted the game at 86-86 with 6:58 remaining. Krauel, who scored 23 of his team-high 33 points in the second half and overtime, hit a jumper 29 seconds later to give the Loggers an 88-86 advantage, their first since leading 6-5 at the 18:41 mark of the first period. MacTaggart responded with a three-pointer, and the teams battled to a 100-100 draw at the end of regulation.
Puget Sound never trailed in the first overtime as Krauel hit three free throws to put his team ahead 103-100, but the Lutes hung in there and finally tied the game at 110-110 on a fastbreak layup by Josh Dressler with 12 seconds to play. When Puget Sound's Antwan Williams missed a three-point shot at the buzzer, the game went to a second overtime.
PLU finally ran out of bullets in that period as the Loggers held the Lutes scoreless for more than four minutes while scoring nine straight points to take a 119-110 lead. The Lutes were not able to close their deficit to less than seven points in the final minute, and the exciting game came to an end. In scoring his 41 points, McDaniels moves into a fourth-place tie on the PLU single-game scoring list with PLU Hall of Famers Chuck Curtis and Tom Whalen. McDaniels also was credited with 12 rebounds to lead all players in that category. Kyle MacTaggart added 22 points before fouling out in overtime while Brandeberry scored all 15 of his points in the first half before being slowed by recurring pain from a foot injury. Dressler added 16 points for the Lutes while playing all but one minute, and Landon Heidenreich had nine assists before fouling out, also in overtime.

HOT-SHOOTING LUTES TAME BEARCATS: Scott McDaniels continued to light up the scoring column for Pacific Lutheran, pouring in 27 points to lead the Lutes to a 106-88 Northwest Conference victory over the Willamette Bearcats at Olson Auditorium.
McDaniels made 9-of-15 shots from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line against Willamette, and has scored 97 points in the past three PLU contests. With four different players making baskets, the Lutes raced out to a 9-0 lead before the Bearcats were finally able to take their first lead of the game at 27-25 on Mike Smith’s three-point field goal with 10:59 left in the opening half. Smith, who finished the game with 20 points, scored 10 points during Willamette’s run. The two teams traded points until Curtis Trondsen nailed a three-point shot at the 6:55 mark to put the Lutes in front for good at 37-35. PLU led by as many as 13 points in the opening period and settled for a 54-45 advantage at the intermission. Josh Dressler, who poured in 24 points for PLU, opened the second half with one of his five three-point field goals, giving the Lutes a 12-point bulge. Willamette got its deficit down to 65-56 on Simon Currie’s three-pointer five minutes into the second period, but the Lutes again got the lead to double figures and kept it there. PLU’s biggest advantage came on the game’s final basket, a layup by Dressler with 57 seconds remaining. The Lutes made 36-of-62 shots from the field, a 58 percent clip, and they were 12-of-23 from beyond the arc, good for 52 percent. Willamette had similar shooting success, hitting 35-of-64 from the floor for 55 percent and 11-of-22 from long range, or 50 percent.

McDANIELS DOMINATING THE FLOOR: Senior post Scott McDaniels earned his second Northwest Conference Player of the Week honor this season after his spectacular play last week against the Loggers and Bearcats. In the two games, he scored 68 points while grabbing 18 rebounds, earning three blocks and three steals and shooting 27-39 (.692 shooting percentage) from the floor and 14-18 from the free throw line. McDaniels marks the fourth time in eight weeks this season that a Lute has won conference player of the week recognition, after PLU earned only one such recognition in the previous six seasons.

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.

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