NEWBERG, Ore. – Bouncing back from consecutive Northwest Conference defeats, the Linfield Wildcats exacted their frustrations on their Yamhill County neighbors, blitzing the George Fox Bruins 83-69 Tuesday night at Wheeler Sports Center.
 
Linfield (12-4, 5-2 NWC) dealt George Fox (10-6, 4-3 NWC) its third straight defeat while taking over sole possession of third place in the NWC standings.
 
"I was very pleased how focused and intense we came out tonight," said Linfield coach Shanan Rosenberg. "The guys did a terrific job defensively."
 
Linfield lines
Five Wildcats reached double figures in scoring. Dempsey Roggenbuck netted 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Grant Gibb totaled 14 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Tanner Autencio contributed 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. Will Burghardt had 12 points and Liam O'Reilly chipped in 10 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Linfield surrendered 25 turnovers in the game, enabling George Fox to reel off seven more shot attempts. The Wildcats compensated in some measure by hitting 11 three-pointers, including four by Gibb and three from Autencio.
 
George Fox summary
Wesley Reynolds scored a team-high 11 points and Michael Green-Richards added 10 points, two assists and two steals to carry the Bruins.
 
Ryan Lacey nabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Dylan Hamlett scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds.
 
The Bruins were 5 of 26 from three-point range and coughed up 23 turnovers of their own.
 
1st half
George Fox scored the game's first bucket before the Wildcats took quick command. Linfield established its first double-digit lead at the 12:49 mark when a layup by Gibb made the score 22-12. The Wildcats' advantage swelled to as many as 18 points after Gibb connected on a three-pointer with 10:21 left before intermission. The margin eventually settled at 16 points with Linfield leading 48-32 as the teams retreated to the halftime locker room.
 
The Wildcats scorched the nets with 57.1 percent shooting in the first half while the Bruins were hitting 37.8 percent of their shots. For the Bruins, Kalu Stricklin totaled eight first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting. Hamlett added seven points.
 
Roggenbuck pumped in 13 points to lead the 'Cats during the opening period. Gibb added eight points off the bench. O'Reilly had four steals in the first half as Linfield forced 15 George Fox turnovers.
 
2nd half
The Bruins turned up their defensive pressure when play resumed, forcing Linfield into a series of turnovers while trimming the deficit to 14 points, 63-49.
 
As the turnovers began to mount, George Fox cut the margin to nine, 68-59, with just over six minutes to play. But a back-breaking three-pointer by Tanner Autencio with 4:22 to go pushed the difference back to a dozen and the Wildcats held off the Bruins from there.
 
Rosenberg's remarks
"We got positive contributions from many players tonight. I thought Dempsey  played a very determined and focused game right out of the gate. 
 
"Tanner Autencio was fabulous and made great plays on both sides of the ball all night. 
 
"I though Max, Grant and Marcus Lord all gave us positive minutes off the bench.
 
"We have to cut down our turnovers as we are in for a frenetic game this Friday. But I think our guys will be ready."
 
Next
NWC play continues Friday as Linfield hosts Pacific Friday at 8 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear Hawaiian attire as part of Hawaiian Night.