McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Five Wildcats finished in double figures on another historic night for Linfield, which defeated the Willamette Bearcats 111-98 Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Linfield matched its best start since 2009-10, when they also went 6-0 to start conference play.
 
Dempsey Roggenbuck scored his 1,000th career point in the first half at the 4:11 mark. Austin Hilton was the star of the first half for the Wildcats, scoring 13 points with four rebounds and two assists. Max Lommen, in a spot start for the Wildcats, came out firing. The sophomore guard hit his first five shots and had 11 points with four assists.

"Max Lommen did a fantastic job tonight stepping in for Will Burghardt," said Wildcats coach Shanan Rosenberg. "Austin Hilton, Tanner Autencio, Dempsey Roggenbuck and Grant Gibb all played outstanding."

Linfield was able to get off to a quick start in this one, shooting a scorching 59% from the field in the first half while hitting five of their nine first half thee pointers.
 
Things were all square in the first five minutes at 12 aside. Willamette would hang tough, and after Carson Bonine knocked down a jumper to give Linfield a lead of seven at the 12-minute mark, Justus Eaglesmith would convert on a three pointer to cut the lead to one with eight minutes to go in the half.
 
The Wildcats would go on a strong run to end the opening half, extending their lead to 20 at the break, courtesy of Austin Hilton and Max Lommen combining for 13 straight points to give Linfield the 62-42 lead at the break.
 
In the second half it was all Linfield, with its lead never dropping below 16 until there was only four minutes left in the game. The Wildcats' largest lead was 27 points.
 
There were a bevvy of Wildcats who contributed with 13 different players scoring at least one point. Hilton finished with a season-high 19 points, six rebounds and three assists. Lommen finished with a season-high 17 points and also had six assists and four rebounds.
 
Grant Gibb and Matt Berger each had 15, a career high for Berger. Roggenbuck finished with 11 points. Willamette (1-14, 0-6 NWC) was led by Daniel Plumer with 23 points and Justus Eaglesmith with 20 points.

"We tried to work in a few more bodies into the game tonight and get some game experience for some guys given our lead," said Rosenberg. "Unfortunately we didn't defend very well and Willamette was able to creep back in.

"It was great to see such a great crowd cheering our guys on and those games that get separated early can be tough in terms of keeping a good focus."
 
NEXT
Linfield (12-3, 6-0 NWC) travels to eastern Washington for matchups with Whitworth (12-3, 6-0) on Friday and Whitman (11-4, 6-0) on Saturday. All three teams stand tied for first place in the NWC. Tipoff for Friday's game is at 8 p.m., with coverage beginning on the Linfield Sports Network at 7:40. Saturday's game begins at 6 p.m., with live coverage starting at 5:40.