PORTLAND, Ore. – Hitting 40 percent of their shots from outside the three-point arc, the Linfield Wildcats rode to a 98-64 Northwest Conference victory over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers at the Pamplin Sports Center Saturday night.
 
With their second 30-point win in as many nights, the Wildcats upped their season record to 5-1 while moving to 2-0 in NWC play. Lewis & Clark (0-6, 0-2 NWC) remained winless under first-year coach Tim McCrory.
 
Linfield lines
Grant Gibb connected on four three-pointers on his way to 20 points. Dempsey Roggenbuck sank 9 of 13 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 21 points. Will Burghardt converted 7 of 10 attempts from the field, scoring 19 points while adding four rebounds, two assists plus a steal.
 
Liam O'Reilly had a strong all-around game, scoring nine points to go with xa game-high four assists, four rebounds and a steal. Max Lommen netted seven points on the bench, hitting 3 of 4 shots while collecting three rebounds and three steals in just 12 minutes of action.
 
Gibb, Tanner Autencio and Austin Hilton led the way on the glass as each Wildcat pulled down five rebounds.
 
The Wildcats shot 52.9 percent from the field while holding the Pioneers to 38.3 percent. The 'Cats also forced 21 turnovers with Riley Bruil netting two steals to go along with six points, two rebounds and two assists.
 
Pioneers points
Kyle Owens topped Lewis & Clark with 17 points, though he was the only Pioneers to reach double digits in scoring. Zeke Crawford pulled down eight rebounds to go along with seven points and four blocked shots.
 
How it played out
Linfield jumped on Lewis & Clark from the get-go. The Pioneers led for only of 32 seconds of the game's opening minute before the Wildcats pushed the pace on the way to taking a 55-32 halftime advantage.
 
The Wildcats controlled the area near the basket, outscoring the Pioneers 46-22 in the paint and outshining the hosts on the offensive backboards, 25-5. As the did a night earlier against Pacific Lutheran, the 'Cats used the fast break to their full advantage, scoring 27 points in transition compared to the Pios nine.
 
Rosenberg's remarks
"Dempsey, Will, Riley and Grant played extremely efficient offensively and our whole team had a whopper of a game defensively.
 
"Austin Hilton and Liam O'Reilly were fantastic in the paint all night.
 
"Max Lommen gave us some great minutes off the bench, which was great to see."
 
Ahead
Linfield hosts New Hope Christian Saturday at 5 p.m. at Ted Wilson Gym.