Feb. 19, 2008

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes Close Season Against Linfield, Pacific

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (10-12, 6-8 Northwest Conference) hosts Linfield (13-10, 8-6 NWC), Friday, 8 p.m.; PLU hosts Pacific (9-14, 7-7 NWC), Saturday, 8 p.m.

Jared Brandeberry

Landon Heidenreich

Scott McDaniels

LUTES WRAP IT UP THIS WEEKEND: With two games remaining and three games out of third place in the competitive Northwest Conference, Pacific Lutheran has no chance of making the three-team conference postseason tournament. That means that the Lutes will wrap up the 2007-08 season this coming weekend when they host conference opponents Linfield on Friday and Pacific on Saturday. At stake for the Lutes is the opportunity to finish the regular season and conference slate with a .500 winning percentage. At 10-12 overall and 6-8 in the conference, the Lutes have to win both of this weekend’s games to finish at .500. That would be a nice accomplishment for a program that as recently as two seasons ago was 5-20, ending a string of four years that saw the Lutes compile a woeful 26-74 win-loss record.

THE FIRST TIME: Pacific Lutheran lost to Linfield and Pacific in Oregon during the first half of the conference slate, falling to Linfield, 89-78, on Jan. 25, and to Pacific, 94-85, the following evening. Against Linfield, the Lutes fell behind by 23 points nine minutes into the second half before rallying to make the game competitive. Landon Heidenreich had his best scoring night of the season, leading the Lutes with 22 points. Against Pacific, the Lutes had no answer for 6-6 junior Garold Howe, who tallied 40 points, including 26 in the first half. Pacific Lutheran whittled down what had been a 16-point Pacific lead eight minutes into the second half to four, 89-85, with 34 seconds remaining, but the Lutes did not score again. Josh Dressler scored 20 points to pace the Lutes in that contest. PLU should benefit from a home court advantage that has seen the team win five of the seven games that it has played this season on the Olson Auditorium hard wood.

ABOUT LINFIELD: With an 8-6 record, Linfield is tied for fourth place in the conference and still has a shot at making the postseason tournament. K.C. Wiser, a 6-8, 235-pound freshman, has been a rookie sensation, leading the Wildcats in scoring (14.5) and rebounding (6.9). Wiser led the ‘Cats with 20 points and eight rebounds in their win against the Lutes in McMinnville. Adding to Linfield’s offensive production are Steve Taylor, who averages 13.5 points while making 47 percent of his three-point shots, Erik Olson, who averages 10.1 points, and Brian Murphy, who averages 9.9 points per game.

ABOUT PACIFIC: After a slow 1-3 start in conference play, the Boxers have found success by pounding the ball inside to a pair of 6-6 players in Garold Howe and Joe Van Domelen. Howe, who leads the Boxers in scoring (16.3) and rebounding (6.7), can also score outside as he is hitting 43 percent of his three-point attempts. Van Domelen, at 240 pounds, might be the strongest player in the Northwest Conference. He averages 14.1 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Running the show is team assist leader Donny Harrison-Davis, who averages 11.5 points while hitting 41 percent of his three-point shots. The Boxers sit in fifth place in the NWC with a 7-7 record but have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason tournament.

SENIOR MOMENTS: A trio of seniors will be playing their final games for Pacific Lutheran this weekend. Landon Heidenreich has been the starting point guard four straight seasons and last year earned honorable mention all-conference recognition. He averages 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season. Scott McDaniels, another four-year player for PLU, has started each of the past two seasons in the post. He earned honorable mention all-conference recognition last year after averaging 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, and this year he averages 17.7 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game. He set a single-game school record with 18 field goals in a game against Puget Sound earlier this season. Jared Brandeberry, a transfer from Wenatchee Valley College, has been a real crowd pleaser and inspiration during his two seasons at PLU. Known for his ability to hit NBA-range three-point shots, Brandeberry is averaging 10.7 points during a senior season that has been greatly hampered by various injuries, including a stress fracture in his left foot

Josh Dressler

NO JOSH-ING ABOUT DRESSLER’S NUMBERS: PLU junior wing Josh Dressler continues to lead the Lutes (and is second in the conference) in scoring with an average of 21.4 points per game. With 470 points this season, Dressler needs 30 points in his final two games to break the 500-point barrier. The last PLU player to score at least 500 points in a season was Dan Gibbs, who scored 521 points (19.3 per game) in 27 games during the 1985-86 season. A total of 11 Pacific Lutheran men’s basketball players have scored at least 500 points in a season, including Tom Whalen and Chuck Curtis, who both did it twice. Whalen is the all-time single-season scoring leader with 656 points during the 1963-64 campaign, while Curtis tallied 627 in 1957-58 and 592 in 1956-57. (By the way, you can still see Whalen in the stands at most PLU home basketball games.) By comparison, Dressler led the Lutes in scoring last year with 333 points. This season, Dressler has led the Lutes in scoring in eight of their last 10 games and in 14 of their 22 overall. With 1,120 career points, Dressler currently ranks 20th on the all-time PLU career scoring list. Just ahead of Dressler is Seth Albright (1994-98) with 1,121 points and Phil Nordquist (1952-56) with 1,139 points.

PIRATES SCUTTLE LUTES: Whitworth held PLU to 17 points below its scoring average in gaining a 76-66 Northwest Conference win last Friday night in Spokane. After the teams traded leads several times over the first 11 minutes, Scott McDaniels put Pacific Lutheran back in front, 16-14, with 9:02 to play in the first half. It was the last lead of the game for the Lutes as Whitworth went on a 10-0 run, including two baskets each by Calvin Jurich and Ryan Symes. Landon Heidenreich's three-pointer pulled PLU within 51-46 with 11 minutes to play in the game, but Whitworth answered with an 8-2 run to take a 59-48 advantage with just under seven minutes left. Dressler led all players with 22 points for PLU. Symes scored 18 points to lead the Pirates and Colin Willemsen posted his NWC-leading ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

WHITMAN GETS ONE AT LUTES’ EXPENSE: Whitman broke into the conference win column last Saturday night at PLU’s expense, handing the Lutes their fourth straight loss with a 75-71 victory at Sherwood Center. Chris Faidley, the NWC's scoring leader, posted his fifth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds and was 7-for-15 from the 3-point line. Faidley had plenty of help with all five Whitman starters scoring in double figures. Graham Brewer had a huge game in the paint, ripping off 14 rebounds while blocking three shots and scoring 10 points. Josh Dressler led Pacific Lutheran with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists. Scott McDaniels added 12 points and nine boards, and Gabe Smith had 10 points.

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

- PLU -