Lutes, Battling for Playoffs, Play Twice in NWC

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (8-9 overall, 6-4 Northwest Conference) hosts Puget Sound (7-12, 3-7), Tuesday, 8 p.m.; PLU at Lewis & Clark (6-12, 5-5), Saturday, 8 p.m.

LISTEN TO THE LUTES: You can listen to Tuesday's PLU men's basketball games against Puget Sound on KLAY 1180 AM in the Tacoma area and also at www.klay1180.com. Long-time announcer Bob Robertson returns to call the action for the Lutes. The Lutes' game at Lewis & Clark on Saturday can be heard on the PLU athletics web site at the following address: http://www.golutes.com/information/listenlive. Nick Caraballo and Drew Griffin will call the action.

IN THE HUNT: Pacific Lutheran, tied with George Fox for third place in the Northwest Conference standings, remains in the hunt for a conference postseason tournament bid. The top four finishers during the regular season earn spots in the NWC tournament, which is scheduled to begin with semifinal games on Thursday, Feb. 25, followed by the title game on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Lutes face two tough challenges this week, hosting Puget Sound on Tuesday and traveling to Lewis & Clark on Saturday.

ABOUT THE LOGGERS: One of the typical Northwest Conference powers is going through a rare rebuilding season. The Puget Sound Loggers are seventh in the standings with a 3-7 record and they are 7-12 overall this year. This is a young team and is certainly feeling the effects of losing three first team all-conference players - Robert Krauel, Antwan Williams and NWC Player of the Year Jason Foster - from their 2008-09 conference championship squad. The Loggers' greatest strength is their aggressive full-court trapping defense that has led to a +6.6 turnover margin. Puget Sound boasts four players in double-figure scoring: Austin Boyce (16.1 points per game), Kaleb Shelton (12.8), Nadav Heyman (11.6) and Colin Koach (10.5).

THE SERIES: Pacific Lutheran owns a 65-59 advantage in a series that has been marked by winning streaks by both teams. The Lutes own the series' longest streak with 21 consecutive wins from 1954 to 1960 and also boast an eight-game streak. The Loggers had a 12-game streak between 1968 and 1996 and a 13-game streak from 2003 through the team's last meeting a couple weeks ago.

THE LAST TIME: PLU ended years of frustration against the Loggers on Jan. 6, taking a 96-81 won at Memorial Fieldhouse. Kyle MacTaggart scored 24 points to lead five players in double figures as the Lutes ended a 13-game losing streak to Puget Sound. Pacific Lutheran's last victory over Puget Sound came by a 49-46 score during the 2002-03 season. The Lutes overcame a seven-point halftime deficit by taking care of the basketball and shooting 53 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. Interestingly, both teams enjoyed their largest leads in the second half, the Lutes taking an 18-point advantage with 27 seconds left in the game after the Loggers had taken a 10-point lead in the opening 20 seconds of the final period. The Lutes out-scored the Loggers by 28 points during a 19-minute stretch. MacTaggart made 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, on his way to a game-high 24 points. Joining the 6-4 junior wing in double-figure scoring were Curtis Trondsen with 14, Gabe Smith and Victor Bull with 13 each and Cameron Schilling with 11. Schilling, a 6-5 freshman forward, was a strong physical presence under the basket, tying the hustling 6-1 Smith for game-high rebound honors with nine. That duo helped the Lutes to a 50-39 dominance on the backboards. Puget Sound got 17 points from Austin Boyce and and 12 points apiece from Colin Koach and Gabe Borboa.

ABOUT LEWIS & CLARK: If there ever was a team that lived and died at the three-point line, this year's Lewis & Clark squad is it. Nearly 47 percent of the shots that the Pioneers have taken this year have come from beyond the three point line, but they have converted just 33 percent of those efforts. When they get it going, however, they are a formidable opponent. Kelly Edwards leads the team with an average of 18.1 points per game, followed by James Hollins at 16.4 points and Josh Kollasch at 11.2 points. Hollins leads the team in rebounding with an average of 7.7 per contest.

THE SERIES: PLU leads the all-time series against Lewis & Clark, 64-48, though the Pioneers have won seven of the last 10 meeting between the programs.

THE LAST TIME: Freshman Cameron Schilling scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Pacific Lutheran to an 83-73 conference victory over the visiting Pioneers on Jan. 9. Schilling made 7-of-10 shots from the field and both of his free throw attempts. He grabbed eight of his rebounds on the defensive end and helped Pacific Lutheran to a 48-36 dominance in that category. Andrew Earnest came off the bench to score 15 points in the winning cause, and he was followed by Kyle MacTaggart with 12 points and James Conti with 11. PJ Taylor scored 16 points to lead the Pios.

- PLU -