PARKLAND - Jason Mumm drained a three-point shot with 51 seconds to play, erasing a one-point Pacific Lutheran lead and giving Eastern Oregon a hard-fought 51-48 men's basketball win Saturday night in the closing game of the PLU Thanksgiving Classic held in Olson Auditorium.
Mumm, a 6-foot 7-inch forward, stepped outside the arc and hit the biggest shot of the game to put his team ahead 50-48 after Drew Earnest had given Pacific Lutheran (1-4) its only lead of the night, 48-47, with a pair of foul shots with 1:02 remaining.
The Lutes nearly tied the game on the next possession by Cameron Schilling's twisting jumper under heavy defensive pressure rimmed out. JD Esters hit a foul shot at the other end of the floor with 11 seconds to give the Mountaineers a three-point lead, and once again the Eastern Oregon defense forced the Lutes into a hurried shot that missed the mark as the buzzer sounded.
Eastern (12-0) took the early lead as the Lutes had trouble knocking down their shots, a theme that was to haunt them throughout the game. They missed 10 of their first 11 shots, but it was their own scrappy defense that kept the game as close as it was. The Mountaineers took a 14-7 lead with 8:47 left in the opening period on a steal and layup by Esters.
At the half, Eastern led 26-18 as the Lutes shot just 31 percent overall, including 0-for-8 from beyond the three-point line.
Eastern's lead reached double figures at 33-23 about five minutes into the second half, and then again at 39-29 on a pair of Craig Tucker free throws with 11:13 remaining.
It took Pacific Lutheran 10 minutes to whittle away that deficit, but it did so as Cameron Schilling scored 10 of his game-high 13 points during that stretch. His jumper with 1:24 left made it a one-point game in favor of the visitors, and after an Eastern Oregon miss on the other end, Earnest was fouled and knocked down the free throws that put PLU ahead for the first and only time.
That set up Mumm for his clutch three-point bomb, a shot that blew up Pacific Lutheran's hopes of handing Eastern Oregon its first defeat of the season.
Esters was Eastern Oregon's only player in double figures, finishing the game with 12 points. Kyllian Wood came off the bench to lead his team with seven rebounds.
Schilling had 13 points and seven boards for the Lutes, who also got 10 points from Andrew Earnest and nine points and seven rebounds from Bryce Miller.
Eastern Oregon shot 39 percent (18-for-46) from the floor, but only 15 percent (2-for-13) from beyond the three-point arc. The Mountaineers outscored the Lutes by eight points at the foul line, more than accounting for the final point spread.
Pacific Lutheran ended up shooting 33 percent (19-for-58), but just 19 percent (5-for-26) from long range.
PLU is back in action at 8 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Northwest University in Olson Auditorium.
- PLU -