TACOMA, Wash. – Eager to bounce back from a surprising loss one night earlier, Linfield took out its frustration on Pacific Lutheran with its most one-sided Northwest Conference outcome of the season.
 
Piling up 53 points in the second half, the Wildcats pounded the home-standing Lutes 81-50 Saturday night at Olson Auditorium.
 
"It was nice to see our team get back to playing gritty defense and selfless offense," said Wildcats coach Shanan Rosenberg. "Tanner Autencio and Riley Bruil really set a tone there, but we had a host of guys contribute in a positive way."
 
Linfield ledger
On a night when Rosenberg emptied his bench, the Wildcats featured a balanced scoring attack. Dempsey Roggenbuck worked his way for a team-high 14 points. Grant Gibb and Will Burghardt both dropped in 12 points while Liam O'Reilly had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Gibb and Riley Bruil each distributed five assists. Austin Hilton came away with three steals.
 
Linfield shot 54.4 percent from the field. The Wildcats canned 11 three-pointers while holding the Lutes to just two baskets from outside the arc.
 
The Linfield bench, led by Roggenbuck's 14 points and Burghardt's 12, outscored the PLU reserves 43-9.
 
PLU points
Jordan Thomas scored a game-high 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He added nine rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot. Kelton Williams contributed nine points and three assists. Conor Geiger chipped in with six points and a couple of steals.
 
1st half
The Lutes held a narrow lead through the game's first 11 minutes. Burghardt swished a three-pointer at the 8:02 mark, giving Linfield its first lead of the game, breaking a 16-all tie. The Wildcats closed the half on a 16-7 run, forcing nine Lutes turnovers and holding the hosts to 2 for 9 from the floor in the 10 minutes leading up to the intermission.
 
2nd half
Linfield put its offense into high gear to begin the second half, needing only nine minutes to match their first half output of 28 points.
 
The 'Cats converted seven three-pointers in the period with Grant Gibb leading the way with nine points.
 
Linfield finished the game on a 17-3 run, collectively hitting 6 of 9 shots, including a trio of buckets from three-point range.
 
Rosenberg's remarks
"The first half we were still a bit hung over from Friday's painful loss, but we showed some maturity tonight and finished strong.
 
"I look forward to seeing our guys carry this energy into our prep for another tough weekend trip ahead to Tacoma and back for Senior Night less than 24 hours later."
 
Next
Linfield returns to Tacoma on Friday night to battle PLU's crosstown rival, the Puget Sound Loggers. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse on the Puget Sound campus. Saturday, the 'Cats are back home at Ted Wilson Gym to square off against the Willamette Bearcats at 6 p.m.