McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Five Linfield Wildcats reached double figures in the scoring column on the way to a 84-73 nonconference victory over the Warner Pacific Knights Tuesday evening at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
 
Linfield raised its season record to 4-1 as the teams headed into the Thanksgiving break.
 
"That was a gutty win," said Wildcats coach Shanan Rosenberg. "I give Warner Pacific a lot of credit for running some real good stuff and creating problems. It was a tough game to find a rhythm, but we found a way to win despite our opponent making it really tough."
 
Wildcats point guard Will Burghardt made 6 of 13 shots on the way to a team-high 19 points. Aaron Baune came off the bench to net 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting. Dempsey Roggenbuck and Tanner Autencio chipped in with a dozen points each and Grant Gibb added 11 points and five rebounds.
 
Kadeem Strickland scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the opening period, hitting 7 of 11 shots from the field, including five three-pointers.
 
Linfield got balanced first-half scoring on its way to a 41-36 halftime lead. Autencio and Roggenbuck both dropped in seven points. Gibb, Burghardt, Max Lommen and Matt Berger all contributed six points.
 
Linfield shot 44 percent from the field compared to Warner Pacific's 38 percent during the opening 20 minutes. Linfield led by as many as eight points in the period after a layup by Berger gave the Wildcats a 16-8 advantage at the 14:06 mark.
 
Burghardt and Baune led the 'Cats through the second half with 13 points apiece though the Knights eventually fought back to take a one-point lead, 42-43, on Morris Bethea's layup with 15:28 to play. From there, Linfield went on a 10-0 run to take control for good. Warner Pacific managed to keep the margin to single digits throughout the contest and only after Baune hit back-to-back buckets with under four minutes to play did the Wildcats feel as though they had the game salted away.
 
Berger totaled a game-high nine rebounds as Linfield won the battle of the backboards, 40-35. Autencio collared seven rebounds and added six assists and a pair of steals. Austin Hilton was a force defensively with five rebounds, three blocked shots plus a steal in 15 minutes of action. Linfield hit 14 three pointers in the game, taking 35 long-range attempts. The 'Cats were also spotless at the free throw line, converting all 14 of their charity tosses.
 
Linfield's bench, led by Baune and Berger, outscored the WPU reserves 30-3.
 
"Aaron Baune really gave us a lift tonight and I was really proud of his effort," Rosenberg said. "Will and Tanner were as tough as they come and in the second half and made timely plays for our team. Dempsey also made some key plays and kept fighting."
 
In addition to Strickland's 24 points, the Knights were led by the 19 points of Bethea, plus 13 more from Brown.
 
With the loss, Warner Pacific fell to 4-4.
 
"I'm very thankful for our players and those that support them," said Rosenberg. "In this season of gratitude, I feel very blessed to coach such a great group."
 
COMING UP
Linfield's scheduled Dec. 3 game at New Hope Christian has been cancelled. The Wildcats' next contest is at Portland Bible on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m.