McMINNVILLE, Ore. – History was made all over the court Saturday evening as the Linfield Wildcats took care of business against the Pacific Boxers, winning 116-87 at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
 
Tanner Autencio was magnificent, setting the Linfield single-game steals record with nine and tying the single-game assists record of 14. Autencio's 14 assists equaled Jeff Santangelo, who, coincidentally, was the college roommate of Tanner's father, Jeff. The final line for the guard was 21 points, 14 assists, five rebounds and nine steals while only committing one turnover.
 
Fellow McMinnville native Aaron Baune was incredible in his own right, shooting a perfect 11 for 11 on route to 26 points off the bench.

"It was 'Mac' night tonight," said Wildcats coach Shanan Rosenberg. "Tanner and Aaron were sensational."
 
Max Lommen contributed offensively as well with 20 points in another start. The sophomore guard was unstoppable in the opening minutes of the game, scoring six straight to put Linfield in front early. But Pacific was able to snatch the lead back using the three-pointer and some help from Nick Drynan.
 
Drynan scored 19 points in the opening half, converting on 7 of his 11 first-half shots and making all five of his three-point attempts. Pacific as a whole shot over 50 percent from three-point range, making 11 of 21 tries.
 
Autencio led the way for Linfield in the first period, playing all but two minutes of the opening 20 and scoring 11 points. The senior made 3 of 6 threes and had six assists and two steals. Lommen had eight in the first and two blocks.
 
A Drynan three-pointer gave Pacific the 33-30 lead and the Boxers held that margin until an Austin Hilton layup and free throw tied it up at 44. The lead went back and forth again until two Colin Rardin free throws handed Pacific a two-point lead at the break, 50-48.
 
Linfield came out in the second half and put up numbers in a heartbeat. The Wildcats shot 26 for 38 in the final half, including hitting 15 for their first 20 attempts after intermission.
 
Defense was the key for the 'Cats, with a 9-0 run over a three-minute span to open the second. Linfield hit on eight of ots next nine shots and stretch the lead out to 76-65 and the game was never close again. Linfield forced Pacific into 24 turnovers in the win.
 
For the Wildcats, Austin Hilton had 11 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Grant Gibb, Dempsey Roggenbuck and Carson Bonine all scored in double figures contributing to the Wildcats' season-high 116 points and the most against a conference opponent since 2003. For the game, the Wildcats shot 62 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range, making 67 percent of their shots in the second half.

Drynan's performance for Pacific (5-14, 2-8 in NWC) cannot be overlooked. The freshman dropped 29 points on 11-18 shooting, including 7-9 on three pointers, in the loss.
 
UP NEXT
Linfield (14-5, 8-2 in NWC) hosts Puget Sound Friday and Pacific Lutheran Saturday. Tipoff for the Loggers matchup is at 8 p.m. and for the Lutes it is 6 p.m. Coverage on the Linfield Sports Network begins 20 minutes before the opening tip.