THE RECORDS
Linfield opens the second half of Northwest Conference play in second place with a 6-2 record against conference foes (11-5 overall). Lewis & Clark enters the week at 6-10 overall with a 0-8 NWC mark while Puget Sound sits in sixth place at 8-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
 
LINFIELD AT A GLANCE
After suffering losses at Whitworth and Whitman, the Wildcats bounced back to claim a pair of wins over Willamette and Pacific Lutheran to close a four-game week. Senior guard Dempsey Roggenbuck leads the squad and ranks second in the NWC with 20.3 points per game. He leads the NWC with an 85 free throw percentage while also ranking ninth with a 48.3 field goal percentage. Fellow senior guard Max Lommen is eighth in the NWC with 14.8 points per game and is tied for the conference lead with 2.1 steals per game. Lommen dropped a career-high 34 points against Willamette on Friday. Senior forward Aaron Baune is also averaging double figures with 12.1 points per game while freshman guard Trey Bryant is putting up 9.7 points and a team-leading 5.6 rebounds per game.
 
LEWIS & CLARK AT A GLANCE
The Pioneers rank sixth in the NWC in both scoring offense (76.3 PPG) and scoring defense (75.2 PPG). Juniors Brenden Patrick and Jack Henderson have carried the load offensively. Patrick is averaging 15.3 points per game, ranking sixth in the NWC. He is also averaging 4.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field. Henderson is right behind Patrick in the scoring rankings with 15 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh. Sophomore Jayden Simpson is second to Roggenbuck with an 81.6 free throw percentage.
 
PUGET SOUND AT A GLANCE
Although Puget Sound ranks ninth in the NWC in scoring with 73.4 points per game, the Loggers make up for it on the defensive end, ranking second with 71.1 points allowed per game. Sophomore Paul Johnson leads the way on offense with 19.1 points per game, which ranks third in the NWC behind Roggenbuck. Johnson also ranks second with a 46.2 three-point percentage. Senior Cal Hansen is averaging 14.2 points per game and is tied for second with 7.1 rebounds per game. Hansen is shooting 55.2 percent from the field, good for fourth in the NWC. Junior Grant Erickson is just shy of double figures with 9.4 points per game.
 
HISTORY
Linfield owns an all-time record of 50-60 against Lewis & Clark in their 110-game history. The 'Cats are 19-34 in Portland but have won three straight meetings and eight of the last nine. The 'Cats won the first meeting of 2021-22, 87-60, on Dec. 4 in McMinnville.
 
Linfield and Puget Sound have met 52 times with the Loggers leading the series with a 31-21 record. The 'Cats are 14-12 against the Loggers at home. The 'Cats have won three straight matchups and six of the last eight. They took the first meeting of the season, escaping Tacoma with a 69-67 victory on Dec. 3.
 
UPDATED SPECTATOR POLICY
To ensure that the Linfield Community, i.e. Students, Staff, and Faculty, remain as healthy as possible during the latest surge of COVID cases due primarily to the Omicron Variant in Oregon, Linfield Athletics is adjusting our current athletic contest spectator policy to the following:

• For the home-based basketball games on January 29, home and visiting student-athletes will be allotted 4 family member spectator tickets; those 4 people will be on a list and must provide proof of vaccination at the door. They will also be expected to sit together at the event. No additional spectators will be allowed entry at this time.  These policies also are applicable to the home swim meet on January 30 except ONLY SENIORS on the Linfield swim team will be allowed to have guests.
   
• There will be no admission charge for approved spectators.
   
• All participants, coaches, spectators and operations personnel must comply with mask use while inside our facilities (except players or officials during active competition and practice). This means wearing the mask over your mouth & nose at all times.  No exceptions AND non-compliant individuals will be told to leave the venue!
   
• Spectators are asked to space themselves throughout the bleachers, as per physical distancing guidelines.
   
• There will be no band attendance.
   
• Concessions will not be sold until further notice. Food is not allowed in our venues, but non-alcoholic drinks may be consumed during events as long as proper masking is taking place between actively taking a drink.
   
• These adjustments are temporary, and we will re-evaluate all protocols regularly.