Offense Dries Up In 2nd Half As Boxers Drop Road Finale
Box Score
TACOMA, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran was a can't miss team while Pacific proved to be a can't hit team in the second half Friday night as the Lutes rolled to a 78-41 victory over the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at Olson Auditorium.
The Boxers (9-15, 3-12 NWC) outshot the Lutes 45 percent to 40 percent in the first half, but PLU's four three-pointers allowed the home team a 78-41 halftime lead. PLU came out on fire in the second half, torching the nets to shoot 65.5 percent from the field (19-29) and 8 of 14 from three-point range. Pacific, meanwhile, made just two shots in the first 11 minutes of the half and finished going 5 of 18 for the half.
Colin Wester (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.) led Pacific with 12 points, all of which came in the first half, to go along with a game-high six rebounds.
Charles Mosley (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) and
Cameron Hayes (So., Milton, Wash.) each had seven points. Pacific finished the game shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the free throw line, but went just 2 for 11 from long range and coughed up 20 turnovers which resulted in 25 PLU points.
James Conti led the Lutes (11-13, 8-7 NWC) with 18 points, going 8 of 11 from the field. Cameron Schilling added 17 points and Andrew Earnest contributed 16. PLU finished shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from the three-point line.
The Lutes held the upper-hand for most of a close, but competitive first half. Conti's jumper at the 10:23 mark gave PLU a 16-9 lead, but back-to-back buckets by Wester on the Boxers' next two possessions sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Boxers an 18-7 advantage with 6:05 left in the period. PLU rebounded to outscore the Boxers 11-1 over the final six minutes, with Arvid Isaksen hitting s jumper with 15 seconds left to take a 29-21 lead at the half.
PLU hit their first two shots of the second half, and after Mosley hit Pacific's first shot at the 17:26 mark it would be all the Lutes' game. A 12-2 run over the next three minutes put PLU ahead 21 points, 46-25, on Earnest's second trey of the period. The Lutes would eventually go ahead 30 points on a Conti lay-in with 7:37 left and took their largest lead of 38 points on Andrew Alness' jumper with 3:11 to go.
Pacific will conclude their 2011-12 season at home Saturday as they host Lewis & Clark. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game can heard online via a live webcast at goboxers.com/webcasts. PLU will host George Fox and be rooting for the Boxers to beat the Pioneers. A PLU win, combined with a Lewis & Clark loss, would give the Lutes the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Northwest Conference Tournament.
