The Lutes slipped to 5-16 overall, 3-9 in the conference. Linfield is 12-10 overall, 8-5 in NWC games.
The Lutes made 10 field goals in 26 attempts during the first half (38.5 percent), but seven of those were three pointers. Kurt Oliver scored 10 of his 23 points in the half -- on three three-pointers and a free throw -- to lead the PLU attack.
Oliver had six points and Landon Heidenreich five points as the Lutes jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Linfield rallied to take a 14-13 advantage and the contest was nip-and-tuck the rest of the half.
Linfield grabbed a 40-39 advantage on a Ryan Monagle free throw with 13:14 left in the game and the Wildcats stayed one step ahead of the Lutes the rest of the game. After Linfield built a 63-52 lead with 3:10 remaining, the Lutes rallied to cut the difference to three, 66-63, with 32 seconds left. Eric Hefferon sank eight straight free throws in the last 26 seconds to clinch the win.
Heidenreich and Drew Cardwell both scored 14 points for the Lutes. Chris Lewis led Linfield with 23 points, while Blake Shelton finished with 14 and Hefferon 10.
Newspaper Box Score Linfield vs Pacific Lutheran 02/18/05 8:00 p.m. at Tacoma, Wash. (Olson Auditorium) At Tacoma, Wash. (Olson Auditorium) LINFIELD 74, PACIFIC LUTHERAN 66 LINFIELD (12-10, 8-5 NWC) Lewis, Chris 6-13 9-12 23; Shelton, Blake 6-14 0-1 14; Hefferon, Eric 1-2 8-8 10; Baldwin, Andy 4-5 1-2 9; Taylor, Steve 2-3 0-0 4; Monagle, Ryan 1-3 2-5 4; Mishler, Matt 1-3 1-2 3; Kushiyama, Casey 0-1 3-4 3; Murphy, Brian 1-1 0-0 2; Ellerbrook, Derek 0-1 2-2 2; Wells, Joe 0-1 0-1 0; Goodman, Jeremy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 26-37 74. PACIFIC LUTHERAN (5-16, 3-9 NWC) Oliver, Kurt 7-16 3-4 23; Cardwell, Drew 5-13 2-2 14; Heidenreich, Landon 4-9 5-6 14; Jochim, Brian 1-1 1-2 4; McDaniels, Scott 1-2 2-2 4; Lipscomb, Jake 2-7 0-2 4; Sinnes, Matt 1-5 0-0 2; Pederson, Andrew 0-1 1-2 1; Ash, Gabe 0-1 0-0 0; Torbenson, Michael 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 14-20 66. Linfield...................... 27 47 - 74 Pacific Lutheran.............. 29 37 - 66 3-point goals-Linfield 4-12 (Lewis, Chris 2-4; Shelton, Blake 2-5; Taylor, Steve 0-1; Mishler, Matt 0-1; Hefferon, Eric 0-1), Pacific Lutheran 10-19 (Oliver, Kurt 6-10; Cardwell, Drew 2-2; Jochim, Brian 1-1; Heidenreich, Landon 1-4; Torbenson, Michael 0-1; Lipscomb, Jake 0-1). Fouled out--Linfield-None, Pacific Lutheran-Ash, Gabe. Rebounds-Linfield 38 (Lewis, Chris 7), Pacific Lutheran 30 (Lipscomb, Jake 7). Assists-Linfield 10 (Kushiyama, Casey 3; Taylor, Steve 3), Pacific Lutheran 7 (Cardwell, Drew 2; Heidenreich, Landon 2; Oliver, Kurt 2). Total fouls-Linfield 19, Pacific Lutheran 26. A-450