Dec. 7, 2007

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Lutes Score 63-60 Win Over Eagles in 2007 Home Opener

Box Score

Josh Dressler - 26 points, eight boards

Landon Heidenreich - five assists, 10 boards

PARKLAND, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran (3-2) played its first home game of the season Friday night, earning a hard-fought 63-60 win over the Northwest University Eagles (6-4) at Olson Auditorium. Junior wing Josh Dressler continued his hot shooting, scoring 26 points to follow up his 38-point outburst against St. Martin’s on Wednesday night.

The game started slow for both teams, with the Lutes’ scoring on only one of their first six shots in the first couple minutes and the Eagles not taking their first shot until PLU had already taken seven. PLU slowly built an 11-4 lead about seven minutes into the game, its biggest of the first half, before a 9-0 Northwest run put the Eagles up by two with just under ten minutes remaining in the period.

PLU reclaimed the lead at 18-16, but the last ten minutes of the first half saw three ties and nine lead changes. A three-pointer by freshman wing Kyle MacTaggart with 1:17 to play in the half put the Lutes ahead by two, and a couple Dressler free throws took the Lutes to the locker room with a 28-24 halftime lead. Neither team shot well in the first half, as the Lutes entered the intermission shooting 35.5 percent and the Eagles shooting 30 percent.

The second half began with a four-point Eagles run to force the fifth tie of the game, followed by an 8-0 Lute run to take the biggest lead of the game at 36-28. A couple Northwest runs narrowed the deficit to three on two occasions before a MacTaggart three-pointer and a Kevin Englund layup put the Lutes ahead 49-41 with 7:23 to play.

An 11-0 Northwest run put the Eagles ahead 52-49 with just over five minutes to play, but the Lutes responded with a 10-1 run to pull ahead for good at 59-53. Northwest gave one final scare with 52 seconds remaining, pulling to within one at 61-60, but Dressler’s final two points sealed the game with 20 seconds left. Senior point guard Landon Heidenreich rebounded the Eagles’ final three-point attempt to finish out the final seconds.

The Lutes dominated the paint, outscoring the Eagles 34-20, but turnovers continued to cause PLU trouble, as the Lutes’ 19 turnovers narrowly missed giving them four straight games with at least 20. PLU finished the game shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc while limiting Northwest to 36.8 percent. Dressler led both teams with 26 points on 9-19 shooting to go with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Heidenreich finished with four points, five assists and a game-high 10 rebounds.

PLU has next week off for finals before returning to action Monday, Dec. 17, in an exhibition game against Simon Fraser at 7 p.m. in Olson Auditorium.

- PLU -