WALLA WALLA - Jeff Ranstrom scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds on Saturday to lead the Eastern Oregon University Mounties past the Pacific Lutheran Lutes, 81-67, at the Walla Walla Vineyard Inn Classic hosted by Whitman College.

Ranstrom came off the bench to lead the Mounties, who improved their season record to 8-1. Pacific Lutheran is now 1-3 after the defeat.

The Lutes took an early 16-9 advantage on a jumper by Curtis Trondsen with 14:09 remaining in the first half. They held their last lead at 30-29 with 6:29 left in the period, but Eastern closed with a 16-5 run to take a 45-35 lead into the intermission.

Eastern maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half, though the Lutes did get as close as five points, 58-53, on Cameron Schilling's basket with 9:29 left in the game.

Trondsen came off the bench to shoot 6-for-7 from the floor and lead the Lutes with 14 points. Kyle MacTaggart scored 11 points and tied Victor Bull for team-high rebounding honors with five, though EOU had a 41-25 advantage in that department. Andrew Earnest was the only other PLU player in double figures, scoring 10 points.

Pacific Lutheran opens its Northwest Conference season next Friday night when it hosts the Pacific Boxers in Olson Auditorium. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

- PLU -