By Nick Barene, Sports Writer
The Pacific Lutheran University men’s basketball team beat Schreiner in its first game of the regular season in thrilling fashion. Sophomore Erik Swartout hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the game for the Lutes, 76-75.
The Lutes came out of the gate playing hard and led throughout the first half, playing to a 40-30 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Lutes held a 58-41 lead with 9:08 to play. However, the Schreiner Mountaineers went on a 28-9 run that brought them all the way back. They made 12 free throws during that run and took a 73-70 lead with only 16 seconds remaining.
With 10 seconds left, guard Arvid Isaksen, a senior, was fouled but still hit his shot, and went to the free throw line. He converted his shot from the stripe to tie the game at 73-73.
On the other end of the floor, the Lutes fouled Mountaineer guard AJ Myres, who converted his free throws to give Schreiner a 75-73 lead.
Then with just three seconds left, Swartout hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to seal the game for the Lutes.
“We set up the play perfectly and Seth [Anderson] made a great pass,” Swartout said. “Once I caught it, I looked at the clock and knew I had time. I just did my best to make a play for my team.”
Swartout said he wasn’t thinking about the pressure to perform in clutch moments.
“You have to let all that go and just play.”
Head coach Steve Dickerson was pleased with the win, but was also aware of a few mistakes.
“We played so well for 30 minutes and then let it get away. The guys, however, hung in and showed their resiliency,” Dickerson said.
Isaksen led the Lutes in scoring with 15 points and added four rebounds.
