Setting the Scene: The Lutes return to Olson Gymnasium and start the final month of the regular season tonight against Oregon rival George Fox.
Online Ticketing: The Lutes have made it easier for fans to attend home sporting events, signing a deal with HomeTown Ticketing to be the department's official electronic ticket provider. Lute fans can now purchase basketball tickets online at GoLutes.com/tickets or on the HomeTown Ticketing mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.
Series History: The Lutes enjoy a 32-22 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1985-1986 season. PLU has won five of the last six but it was the Bruins that prevailed earlier this season, earning an 85-76 victory back on Jan. 7 in Newberg, Oregon.
About the Lutes: The Lutes (10-9, 4-6 NWC) return home having won three of their last four games, pulling within striking distance of a spot amongst the top four in the NWC standings. PLU's success began on Jan. 17, downing crosstown nemesis Puget Sound 81-80. That success continued four days later with the Lutes rolling Pacific 90-76.
Pacific Lutheran hit the road last weekend, staving off a late rally for an 83-77 victory over Whitworth, the program's first victory in Spokane since 1998. PLU's fortunes turned last Saturday, running out of gas in a 75-67 setback to NWC leaders Whitman.
Sean McCurdy has been a big piece of that recent success, scoring at least 20 points in his last four games. That included a 28-point, 11-rebound effort in the win over Whitworth. As an encore, the senior added 21 points on Saturday vs. Whitman and on Monday was named the NWC Player of the Week.
Brandin Riedel is the team-leader in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game while also hauling in 5.6 rebounds per game. Riedel leads the conference in field goal percentage, hitting at a 62.3 percent clip. Sean McCurdy chips in 13.3 ppg and leads the NWC on the glass with 7.6 rebounds per game. Sam Noland drops 13.1 ppg. Jackson Reisner is the sharpshooter with 54 threes on the year and boasts a 12.2 ppg average.
PLU is one of the best defensive teams in the league, ranking second in the NWC in scoring defense (68.3 ppg) while leading the league in blocks (3.44 per game).
About the Bruins: George Fox (5-14, 4-6 NWC) heads to Tacoma having dropped three of its last four games. The Bruins slump started on Jan. 21 with a 76-72 setback to Lewis & Clark after the Pioneers pulled out the victory in the final seconds. GFU fell 77-65 to Illinois Wesleyan three days later in a non-conference tussle that was rescheduled from earlier in the season.
George Fox downed Willamette in a 98-92 barnburner on Jan. 27 before stumbling 70-67 to Linfield the following day.
Three Bruins average in double figures with Mono Stokes leading the way averaging 15.4 points per game. Davon Walker adds 12.0 ppg while Chris Nickelberry contributes 11.5 ppg and 6.2 rebounds per game along with 3.9 assists per game.
Home Cooking: The Lutes have turned Olson Gymnasium into a tough place for opposing teams to play. Pacific Lutheran has won 21 of its last 27 home games, including 10 of its 11 home dates during the 2021-2022 season. That includes a 64-61 thriller over Gustavus Adolphus back on Dec. 30 that saw Jackson Reisner drain a buzzer-beating three for the win.
PLU additionally has won 16 of the last 20 NWC games played inside Olson Gymnasium and 25 of the last 31 NWC games played in Tacoma.
New Look Lutemobile for 2023
The new Lutemobile is here! In the first week of January, the Lutes' bus partner Bellair Charters, unveiled its newest PLU branded bus as it took the men's and women's hoops teams to Oregon.
Academic Attaways: The Lute men's basketball team is getting it done on the court and in the classroom this academic year. As a team, the men's basketball program boasted a 3.19 team GPA during the 2022 fall semester.
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
The NWC office released its annual coaches' poll on Nov. 22 with the defending Co-Champion Lutes picked to finish third with 48 points. Co-Champion Whitworth sits atop the poll with 63 points and seven of the nine first place votes. Whitman is second with 56 points and the remaining two first place nods.
Pacific is fourth with 41 points followed by Lewis & Clark (34 points). Co-Champion Linfield was pegged a distant sixth with 32 points followed by George Fox (26 points), Puget Sound (14 points), and Willamette (10 points).
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store (DOWNLOAD LINK) or Google Play (DOWNLOAD LINK) and search for "PLU Athletics."
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace on August 31 through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here: LINK. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Next Home Game:
Feb. 4: PLU hosts Linfield at 6 PM
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu