Brown and Dean Lead the Scoring, but Lutes Prevail in Second Half

Salem, Ore. - The Willamette Bearcats took a 44-36 lead to halftime, but couldn't hold on for the victory as Pacific Lutheran outscored the home team by eleven in the second half to win 76-73.  Kai Brown came off the bench to lead the Bearcats in scoring with D'Ante Dean adding 15.

Pacific Luthern scored the first four points of the game and took an early 6-1 lead before a layup by Brown tied the score at eleven.  The teams traded baskets before Willamette took their first lead of the game on a three-point play from Dean that put the Bearcats ahead 18-17.  The game saw three ties and seven lead changes over the next several minutes until a long-range jumper from Ryder Hsiung put Willamette ahead 33-31 and started a 12-0 run that included eight points from Hsiung, a layup by Deacon Perry and a jumper by D'Ante Dean.  Two foul shots by Caleb Moore sent the Bearcats into the locker room with the aforementioned 44-36 advantage.

Hsiung started the second half with a three-pointer to extend Willamette's advantage to eleven, but the Lutes began to chip away at that lead over the next several minutes.  With the Bearcats leading 51-41, a 13-3 run by PLU ended with them tying the game at fifty-four with just over thirteen minutes left in the game.  Two made throws moments later gave the Lutes their first lead of the game since the score was 31-30.  Much like the first half, the last part of the game saw several ties and neither team leading by more than four points until the Lutes pulled ahead 70-64 with just under three minutes to play.  Kai Brown scored 9 of his 16 points in the final three minutes to keep Willamette close, but a Josiah Frank shot at the buzzer was off the mark and PLU prevailed 76-73.

Joining Brown and Dean in double figures were Hsiung with 13 and Frank with 10.  Dean led the Bearcats in rebounds with five, followed by Hsiung and Kahiau Bruhn each with four.  Frank handed out five assists, with Caleb Moore and Bruhn adding three each.  Dean blocked four Pacific Lutheran shots.

Willamette returns to Northwest Conference action on Saturday, January 18th, when they travel to Linfield University for a 4:00 pm tipoff.