Earnest Effort Nets Lutes 74-51 Win Over George Fox
PARKLAND - Andrew Earnest had a big game for Pacific Lutheran when his team needed it Saturday night, finding the range for 19 points in leading the Lutes to a 74-51 Northwest Conference men's basketball win over the visiting George Fox Bruins in Olson Auditorium.
Earnest, a sophomore shooting guard, took the "shooting" part to a high level on Saturday, knocking down all four of his shots from three-point range in helping the Lutes improve their overall record to 2-4 and their conference mark to 1-1. The Bruins, who opened the conference season with a midweek win over Willamette, are now 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Leading 14-11, the Lutes scored 10 unanswered points to take a 13-point lead with 5:44 left in the opening half. Earnest hit a pair of three-point shots and frosh post Kole Podowicz added a pair of jumpers during the run.
Earnest fired up the home crowd, maintaining his hot hand with two more treys and ending the half going 4-for-4 from long range while scoring 14 of his points. Earnest's fourth three-pointer of the half gave the Lutes a 30-15 lead, and they took their biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 32-15 on a pair of Victor Bull free throws with 31 seconds remaining.
Mike Taylor knocked down a three-point shot to pull George Fox to within 14 points, 32-18, at the intermission. The Bruins, who finished third in the conference standings a year ago, struggled finding the basket in the opening half, shooting 20 percent on 6-for-30 shooting.
In the second half, George Fox got to within 11 points, 44-33, on a three-point basket by Steven Wiseley with 13:12 left, but the Lutes never gave up their double-digit lead. In fact, Pacific Lutheran eventually led by as many as 24 points before settling for the 23-point win.
Joining Earnest in double figures for the Lutes was Cameron Schilling with 12 points, and the sophomore wing also led the Lutes with seven rebounds. PLU owned a 43-35 advantage on the boards.
The Lutes shot 24-for-57 from the field, 42 percent, and were 5-for-12 from three-point land. The Bruins warmed up a little in the second half but still finished with a 17-for-59 shooting night, good for 29 percent. They were 6-for-19 from long range, 32 percent.
Wiseley led the Bruins with 14 points, though his shooting struggles were indicative of the George Fox marksmanship as he made just 5-for-18 from the field. He was the only Bruins player in double figures. Mike Taylor led his team with seven rebounds.
Pacific Lutheran returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts non-conference foe Saint Martin's in Olson Auditorium.
- PLU -