Early Deficit Dooms Pacific Lutheran in 88-71 Loss

Box Score

Gabe Smith - 16 points

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran fell behind early and was unable to rally in dropping an 88-71 non-conference men’s basketball game to Evergreen State on Tuesday night. The loss was the first in three games for the Lutes this season.

The host Geoducks made 23-of-36 from the field, or 64 percent, in the first half and limited the Lutes to 32 percent shooting on 12-of-37 accuracy in taking a 50-31 halftime lead. They never led by less than 17 points in the final period despite matching the Lutes’ first half shooting numbers. Evergreen ended up making 48 percent from the floor compared to 38 percent for the Lutes.

Nathan Menefee poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the Geoducks, who also got 13 points from Julio Feliciano, 12 points from David Howard and 10 points from Marcus Whittaker. Gabe Smith made 10-of-12 free throws and finished with 16 points for PLU, which also got 12 points from Kevin Englund and 10 points from Landon Heidenreich.

The Geoducks, who improved their record to 3-0, had a 44-33 rebound edge, with Feliciano grabbing 12 boards in a reserve role. The game was a sloppy affair that saw both teams turn the ball over 29 times.

Pacific Lutheran returns to action at 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday when they play Cascade College in Portland, Ore.

- PLU -