McMINNVILLE, Ore. – With a win over the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium, the Linfield Wildcats secured a share of the program's first Northwest Conference title since the 2000-01 season. Led by Dempsey Roggenbuck's 26 points and Max Lommen's 20, the Wildcats shot over 57 percent from the field to defeat the Pirates 91-80 before a charged crowd that filled Wilson Gym to near capacity.

"I'm so proud of what our team has accomplished. To win at home tonight in front of our great fans is amazing," said Wildcats coach Shanan Rosenberg. "All of our players rose up and contributed and none more than our seniors."
 
The Wildcats honored their four seniors on Senior Night with a monumental performance, ensuring a home playoff matchup with the Whitman Blues Thursday night in the semifinals of the NWC playoffs.

Linfield started seniors Tanner Autencio, Grant Gibb, Austin Hilton and Aidan Phizackerley to open senior night. Ben College of Whitworth struck quickly in the opening minutes with eight quick points. The Pirates converted seven of their first 11 shots to start the game.
 
With all the momentum going Whitworth's way and a 17-8 lead, Tanner Autencio got the home crowd going. He passed the ball off the back of a Whitworth defender on an inbounds play and recovered it while stepping in bounds, scoring a layup to make it 17-10. Ben College hit another three, but it was fellow senior Austin Hilton with an outrageous hustle play to get a steal and pass the ball to Max Lommen for a three-pointer that really got the House of Hustle hopping with excitement.
 
Linfield made three of its next four shots and the score was 29-28 Whitworth with seven minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats and Pirates continued trading baskets in a big offensive first half, but Whitworth still held the lead at 38-36.
 
Roggenbuck gave Linfield its first lead since the score was 2-0 with a three-pointer with two minutes left to go in the opening half. Freshman Carson Bonine then followed that three-pointer with one of his own with 40 seconds left. Roggenbuck capped of his stellar first half with another three-pointer with five seconds left to give Linfield the lead at the break, 48-41.
 
In the first, Roggenbuck made all seven of his shot attempts on the way to 19 points. He was 3 for 3 from deep, part of seven successful three-point makes by Linfield in the half. The Wildcats had 11 assists to open the game and shot 65 percent in the period.
 
The Pirates came roaring back though in the second half. Whitworth was good on four of its first five shots and the Linfield lead was trimmed to three, 52-49. But Autencio again led the charge for Linfield, with the 'Cats making four of five shots. Autencio assisted Lommen on a three, before converting two straight threes of his own to extend the lead back out to eight.
 
The Wildcats were held scoreless for a little over two minutes before another 5-0 run had the 'Cats lead to nine. But Autencio was called for his fourth foul at the 10:34 mark in the half and was sent to the bench. The Wildcats picked up their leader, making four more shots to push the score 70-61.
 
Lommen took center stage in the ensuing possessions to give the Wildcats a bigger cushion. The junior guard drew an offensive foul against Isaiah Hernandez before charging down to the other end of the court and scoring layup while getting fouled to make the lead 13. Roggenbuck capped off the 8-0 Wildcat run with a three-pointer to get up to 23 points for the game.
 
The Pirates had one last gasp in them though. A quick 5-0 run, and another two minute scoreless drought for the 'Cats, brought the lead back to single digits. Hernandez converted on a layup and Kea Vargas hit a three with 1:47 left to go in the game. But Linfield put the game out of reach with a 4-0 run to secure a share of the NWC title.
 
Roggenbuck finished the night going 9 for 15 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range. Lommen, the leader in the NWC in field goal percentage, made 7 of 10 shots and was 3 fo 5 on three-point attempts. Senior Austin Hilton had 16 points and nine rebounds, to go along with five assists. Autencio rounded out the four Wildcats to end in double-figures, with 15 points of five of eight shooting and thee for five from beyond the arc. Tanner also added four assists before fouling out. For the game, the 'Cats shot the lights out making 57 percent of their shots for the game and over half of their threes.
 
Ben College and Sam Lees each had 15 points to lead the Pirates in scoring. Each had four assists to lead the team as well. Isaiah Hernandez had 14 and Garrett Hull had 10 for the co-conference champs.
 
"It's storybook ending to conference for us and I'm so proud to be a Wildcat!" beamed Rosenberg. "Whitworth is an outstanding team and storied program. Winning a share of the NWC title is a testament to our players – past and present – for what they have done to elevate our program and make Linfield Basketball relevant.

"We look forward to the tournament next week and urge all whole community to come out and support us," said Rosenberg. "Go Cats!"
 
UP NEXT
Linfield (20-5, 18-2 in NWC) will host its first playoff game since the 2000-01 season against the Whitman Blues (18-7, 13-3 in NWC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Ted Wilson Gymnasium. The Wildcats defeated the Blues Friday night at home, 73-70.