Dec. 5, 2007

Dressler Scores 38, But Lutes Fall to Saint Martin's, 92-86

Josh Dressler - 38 points, nine boards

Kyle MacTaggart - 13 points

Box Score

LACEY – Josh Dressler scored a career-high 38 points but Pacific Lutheran (2-2) came out on the short end of a 92-86 non-conference men’s basketball decision to the NCAA Division II Saint Martin’s Saints (3-4) on Wednesday night in SMU Pavilion.

Dressler, a junior guard from Vancouver, drained 8-of-14 three pointers on the way to his 38-point output, which ties him for sixth on the Pacific Lutheran single-game scoring list with three other players. The late Chuck Curtis, a Pacific Lutheran College All-American, scored 44 points against Whitworth in 1958 to establish the school record. Dressler’s eight “treys” were one short of the school single-game record set by Erik Peterson against Mesa State (Colo.) in 1995.

Saint Martin’s took an early 7-0 lead, but with Dressler sandwiching a pair of three balls around another trey by Curtis Trondsen, the Lutes eventually tied the game at 13-13 five minutes into the contest. Dressler hit five of his three-pointers in the opening stanza as the Lutes surged to a 54-44 halftime advantage. Freshman Kyle MacTaggart helped out with nine points as the Lutes shot 53 percent in the opening period both from the field and beyond the three-point arc.

Pacific Lutheran took its biggest lead of the game at 56-45 on a layup by Scott McDaniels with 18:21 to play, but the Saints responded with a 17-6 run – including seven points from reserve center Michael McIver – to tie the score at 62-62 with 12:41 remaining.

The Lutes rebuilt a seven-point advantage at 78-71 with 6:15 left after consecutive three-point field goals by Dressler, but again the Saints whittled their deficit and eventually took an 85-84 lead on two Jake Linton free throws with 2:57 remaining.

After PLU point guard Landon Heidenreich hit a pair of charity tosses with 1:47 to play, the Lutes went scoreless and the Saints closed with a long three-point field goal by Linton and a pair of free throws each from Tyler Nixon and Linton.

Dressler ended up making 12-of-21 from the field and all six of his free throws, and he also contributed a team-high nine rebounds in addition to five assists and three steals. MacTaggart finished with 13 points, followed by Trondsen with 11 and McDaniels with 10 for the Lutes, who shot 44 percent for the game. Heidenreich, who was limited to 26 minutes by foul trouble, contributed eight assists for the Lutes.

Linton and Brendan Campbell both scored 24 points to lead the Saints, who also got 14 points from Bill Richardson and 11 from McIver. Saint Martin’s, which shot 48 percent from the field for the game, enjoyed a 45-36 rebounding edge.

PLU returns to action, and plays its first home game this season, when it hosts Northwest University at 8 p.m. Friday in Olson Auditorium.

- PLU -