MEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes to Face Willamette in Season’s Final Oregon Trip

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (10-9, 6-5 NWC) at Willamette (8-11, 6-4 NWC), Saturday, 8 p.m.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS: With Pacific Lutheran’s 106-88 home win over Willamette January 12th the Lutes pulled even in the all-time series against the Bearcats, 48-48 since 1933. The Bearcats are a much different team now then three weeks ago, however. Since losing to Pacific Lutheran and Linfield to fall to 4-10 on the season, Willamette has rebounded to win four of its last five, averaging 75.8 points per game while holding opponents to 71.6 points per game. Senior Mike Smith, the only senior on the team, enters the game as the reigning Northwest Conference player of the week, after averaging 20.5 points in road wins against Whitman and Whitworth. In the Bearcats’ past five games, Smith is averaging 19.6 points per game while shooting a .550 percentage from three-point range and .871 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, sophomore post Cameron Mitchell has posted three double-doubles in the past five games, and his seven for the season is tied with Pacific Lutheran’s own Scott McDaniels for second in the conference. Mitchell’s past five games have been outstanding, averaging 15 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting .620 on field goals and .857 on free throws. Perhaps his most impressive feat is that he has done all of this while averaging less than 24 minutes per game, coming off the bench. In Willamette’s 82-74 upset win at conference-leading Whitworth last weekend, Mitchell put together a 27 point, 16 rebound performance in only 26 minutes of playing time. His match up against McDaniels will likely be the key to this game as the Lutes try to contain his dominant post presence.

FROM DOWNTOWN: In their last meeting, these two teams combined to score on 23 of 45 three-point attempts, and the trend will likely continue Saturday. Willamette shoots a Northwest Conference best .414 from beyond the arc, while only holding teams to a .375 percentage, second-highest in the league. The Bearcats also boast the players with the top two shooting percentages in the conference from three-point range in Mike Smith and Corey Constantino.

TURNOVER PRONE: Look for the Lutes to play an aggressive defense as they will try to force turnovers against a Bearcat team that has the worst turnover margin in the Northwest Conference at -3.42.

ABOUT THAT FIRST GAME: Scott McDaniels poured in 27 points to lead the Lutes to a 106-88 Northwest Conference men's basketball 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. 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 much 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.

DRESSLER’S CHASE: Junior guard Josh Dressler scored his 1,000th career point with his first basket against George Fox last weekend, becoming the 21st player in school history to achieve the milestone. His 1,052 career points move him ahead of Dan Allen and into 20th place all-time. Also, Dressler’s current total of 402 points this season are the most by a PLU player since Seth Albright scored 454 during the 1997-98 season.

LUTES OUTLAST BRUINS: In a game that offered a little bit of everything to a crowd estimated at 650, Gabe Smith hit a three-point shot from deep in the right corner with 3.4 seconds left to give Pacific Lutheran a 79-76 overtime victory over the visiting George Fox Bruins on Friday night in Olson Auditorium. Smith’s shot culminated a game that saw Pacific Lutheran lead by as much as 22 points in the first half before Brent Satern led a furious George Fox rally that resulted in a 70-70 tie at the end of regulation. After the Bruins took a 75-72 lead with 2:09 remaining in the overtime, Jared Brandeberry hit a jumper and two free throws to put the Lutes on top, 76-75, with 49 seconds remaining. Bryan O’Connell hit the second of two free throws with 33 seconds left to tie the game at 76, leading to Smith’s heroics. Landon Heidenreich penetrated down the right side of the lane and dished to Smith, whose long shot hit nothing but net. A final half-court desperation heave by Satern came up short, and the Lutes had the victory. Pacific Lutheran scored the game’s first nine points and held a 16-11 lead when they scored 19 of the game’s next 21 points to open a 35-13 lead. Gregory Bogdan’s three-point shot capped the run and came with 6:13 left in the half. George Fox came back with its own 10-0 run to get back into the game and the Lutes settled for a 38-25 lead at the intermission. At that point, PLU’s Scott McDaniels had scored 11 of his game-high 21 points. Satern hit a trio of three-point shots to lead the Bruins’ second half comeback. The visitors tied the score at 60-60 on Satern’s layup with 6:01 remaining in the second half, and they took their first lead of the game, 63-30, on Dan Lingenfelder’s three-point shot from the right wing with 4:37 to play. Pacific Lutheran was able to push out to a 70-66 lead with 47 seconds left, but Satern hit four straight free throws down the stretch while the Lutes turned the ball over and missed a final shot at the end of regulation.
McDaniels led the Lutes with 21 points and he added eight rebounds before fouling out in the closing seconds of regulation. Brandeberry added 20 points for the Lutes.

LAST-SECOND LAYUP LIFTS LUTES: Kyle MacTaggart made a layup with 0.6 seconds remaining to give Pacific Lutheran a 78-76 victory over the visiting Lewis & Clark Pioneers on Saturday night in Olson Auditorium. MacTaggart, streaking down the left side of the floor, took a pass from Josh Dressler and put the shot off the backboard. The ball hung on the front lip of the rim before falling through the net. Those two were the only points scored during the game by the PLU bench. A final desperation heave by the Pioneers didn’t come close and the Lutes had the win. Lewis & Clark had tied the score at 76-76 with eight seconds left on a trio of free throws by Mark Robinowitz. The smooth-shooting guard was bumped by Landon Heidenreich and he turned and flung the ball toward the basket, drawing the three-shot foul. For the second straight night, the Lutes started out hot, and for the second straight night it took a shot at the end to win the game. The Lutes raced out to a 21-7 lead just six minutes into the contest. Dressler opened the game with a three-point field goal and added another trey during the run, which was capped on Landon Heidenreich’s three-pointer. Lewis & Clark whittled its deficit to five points, 32-27, on David Berggren’s layup with 1:19 left on the clock, but Jared Brandeberry and Gabe Smith hit threes to give the hosts a 38-27 advantage at the intermission. At that point, the Lutes had already blistered the nets from long range, making 8-of-17 three-point shots, while the Pioneers made just 10-of-35 from the field, including 4-of-19 from long range. Pacific Lutheran opened up a 15-point lead at 49-34 on a layup by Heidenreich with 13:00 remaining, but the Pioneers got back into the game behind the shooting of Robinowitz and Gene Rivera. Robinowitz hit a trio of three-pointers and Rivera scored 10 of his 12 total points in the second half to lead the charge.
The Lutes never trailed in the contest, and the score was tied only twice, the first time at 3-3 and the second when Robinowitz hit his free throws to make the score 76-76. That set up MacTaggart’s game-winning shot. All five of the PLU starters scored in double figures, led by Dressler with 21 points. Heidenreich added 17 points and Scott McDaniels had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Smith scored 13 points and Brandeberry added 11 for the winners. Heidenreich and Brandeberry both finished with five assists for Pacific Lutheran.

LOGGERS TAKE ANOTHER THRILLER: Antwan Williams hit a tough 14-foot jumper in the lane with one second remaining in overtime to give the Puget Sound Loggers a hard-earned 98-97 win over the Pacific Lutheran Lutes on Tuesday night in Olson Auditorium. For the second time in as many meetings this season, the two teams battled into overtime, and for the second time it was the No. 13-ranked Loggers that squeaked out the victory. In the first game between the teams on Jan. 8, Puget Sound defeated the Lutes, 125-116 in double overtime. Williams made sure that only one extra period was needed this time, hitting his clutch jumper despite heavy defensive pressure from the Lutes. After the teams battled to an 88-88 draw after regulation, the Loggers scored first in the extra session on Jason Foster’s layup. Landon Heidenreich hit a jumper and Scott McDaniels hit three-of-four free throws to give the Lutes a 93-90 lead with 2:25 remaining, but the Loggers scored the next six points, punctuated by Foster’s steal and thunderous dunk. Jared Brandeberry scored on a layup to cut PLU’s deficit to 96-95, and after a miss by Robert Krauel, Kyle MacTaggart hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to put the Lutes on top, 97-96. That set up Williams’ shot, which gave the Loggers their 11th straight win in the series. There were two ties and three lead changes in a first half that saw the Loggers lead by as much as six points before the Lutes stormed back to grab a 39-32 advantage on McDaniels’ dunk with 5:10 left in the period. PLU eventually took a 46-41 lead into the intermission. The second half was more of the same as the lead changed hands five times, including when the Lutes took a 65-64 lead with 10:44 left on Greg Bogdan's offensive rebound and putback. Puget Sound responded with an 8-0 spurt, capped by Taylor Marsh’s jumper, to go up 72-65 with 8:36 to play. Pacific Lutheran managed to get the lead back, 79-78, on a basket by MacTaggart with 4:30 remaining, but the Loggers again regained the lead and held it until Heidenreich hit the second of two foul shots with 10 seconds left. Williams had a chance to end the game in regulation but missed a jumper. He didn’t miss in overtime.

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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