CLAREMONT, Calif. – A solid start turned into a rough finish as the Linfield men's basketball team fell 79-72 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to wrap up the California road trip Saturday night at Roberts Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats took a 38-30 lead into halftime. Their largest lead was 19 points with 3:22 left to play in the first half. The Stags slowly chipped away at the Linfield lead and outscored the 'Cats 49-34 in the second half to complete the comeback.
 
"Once again, we had stretches where we showed signs of being a high-level team, but we aren't there yet," head coach Shanan Rosenberg said.
 
The Stags shot 44.4 percent from the field, including 58.6 percent in the second half. They also shot 35.3 percent from three-point range and 58.6 percent from the free throw line. The Stags scored 34 points in the paint and 24 points off 16 Linfield turnovers.
 
TJ Askew and Josh Angle paced CMS on offense. Askew dropped 23 points on 8 of 18 shooting to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Angle scored 21 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Rhett Carter (12 points, nine rebounds) and Matt Meredith (10 points, nine rebounds) just missed double-doubles as four Stags finished in double figures.
 
"We have a lot of young guys playing against some good, physically mature and big teams on the road for the first time in their college lives," Rosenberg said. "It's a challenge, going through those growing pains, but I see great promise for us down the road."
 
Linfield had the magic touch in the first half, connecting on 42.9 percent from the field. The 'Cats shot just 28.6 percent in the second half, finishing the game at 36.5 from the field, 35.7 percent from outside and 84.2 percent from the free throw line. The Linfield bench scored 20 points.
 
Senior guard Dempsey Roggenbuck and senior forward Aaron Baune finished with 15 points apiece to lead the 'Cats on offense. Roggenbuck also had two rebounds, three assists and a steal while Baune registered six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior guard Max Lommen recorded double digits with 11 points while freshman point guard Trey Bryant had a team-high seven rebounds with seven points.
 
"Our two opponents down here have been two of the best teams in the SCIAC for many years," Rosenberg said of Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. "It was good for us to compete against them and get a measurement for where we need to grow. I'm confident that we will."
 
NEXT
The 'Cats (2-2) open Northwest Conference play at Puget Sound on Friday before hosting Lewis & Clark on Saturday.