PARKLAND - Pacific Lutheran withstood a last-gasp Willamette rally Friday night to grab a 90-87 victory in a wild Northwest Conference men's basketball shootout in Olson Auditorium.

The Lutes (14-9 overall, 9-6 NWC) rallied from a 13-point first half deficit to lead by as many as 10 points with less than five minutes remaining before weathering a final flurry from the visiting Bearcats (6-18, 3-12).

PLU took an 85-77 lead on a pair of James Conti free throws with 1:53 remaining, but the Bearcats scored six straight points, including a three-point shot by Taylor Mounts, to pull within two points at 85-83 with 44 seconds left.

Andrew Earnest and Kyle MacTaggart both hit a pair of free throws around a Willamette miss as the Lutes regained a six-point lead, 89-83, but the Bearcats got a layup, a steal, and another layup to make it 89-87 with 11 seconds left.

After a foul, MacTaggart hit the first of two free throws, giving the Bearcats one last possession and nine second with which to work. They ran a play for Mounts, their leading scorer, but he bobbled a pass and by the time he recovered the ball at midcourt, all he could do was throw up a wild attempt at a game-tying shot, and it was well off the mark.

Willamette dominated most of the first half, scoring at will against the Lutes while building up a 32-19 lead less than nine minutes into the game. By that point, Terrell Malley had drilled a trio of three-point shots on the way to 14 first-half points. The Lutes scored 10 unanswered points late in the half to pull within a pair, 41-39, before the Bearcats settled for a 45-41 halftime edge.

At that point, the Lutes had shot 59 percent (17-for-29) from the floor, but they were unable to match Willamette's 54 percent (7-for-13) accuracy from three-point range.

The game was tied a couple of times early in the second half before PLU finally took the lead at 55-54 on Cameron Schilling's jumper with 13:58 to play. The Lutes never again trailed, and in fact built a double-digit lead until the closing rush by the Bearcats.

MacTaggart, honored prior to the game as the 22nd player in PLU men's basketball history to score at least 1,000 points, led all scorers with 23 points, and he also grabbed six rebounds. Schilling had a double-double with 12 points and a game-best 12 rebounds, while Conti added 14 points and Andrew Earnest 13 more.

The Lutes shot 56 percent (32-for-57) for the game, though they managed to make just 2-for-10 from beyond the arc. They were strong at the foul line, hitting 24-for-30 for 80 percent, and they won the rebounding battle, 38-27.

Willamette finished the game hitting 54 percent (35-for-65), and 47 percent (9-for-19) from three-point range. The Bearcats hurt themselves at the line, however, making just 8-for-17 for 47 percent.

Mounts was the team's leading with 22 points and seven rebounds, while both Malley and Ryan Meehan finished with 20 points. Sean Dart added 11 points in the losing effort.

Neither team did a good job taking care of the ball as the Lutes finished with 26 turnovers and the Bearcats had 23 of their own.

- PLU -