SPOKANE, WASH. – The Linfield men's basketball team fell 78-61 to the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders Tuesday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse in the opening game of the Quality Inn Oakwood Classic, hosted by Whitworth University.
Linfield (4-5, 1-1) shot the ball well early on but couldn't withstand all-around strong play from the Crusaders (6-3, 3-2), defending champions of the American Southwest Conference.
"We put ourselves in too big a hole first half against a really good team," said head coach
Shanan Rosenberg after the loss. "I thought we played much better in the second half, but didn't make enough open shots to close the gap."
The Wildcats opened the game hitting their first four shots, all three-pointers, to lead by as many as eight in the first half.
Mary Hardin-Baylor put together a run to take its first lead of the night at 20-18 with 10:16 left to play in the half and never looked back, eventually taking a 48-30 advantage into halftime and maintaining the lead for the rest of the ballgame.
Both teams got hot in the first half, with Mary Hardin-Baylor shooting 55.56 percent from the field and 52.94 percent on three-pointers while Linfield shot 50 percent from the field and 46.67 percent from three.
Both sides turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, with the 'Cats holding the Crusaders to 32.14 percent from the field and just 10 percent on threes but shooting just 31.43 percent on field goals and 20.83 percent from three themselves.
For the game Linfield shot 38.2 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three (12 for 39) while Mary Hardin-Baylor shot 43.6 percent from the field and 37 percent from three (10 for 27).
The Crusaders held a significant advantage on free throw attempts, making 20 on 27 attempts, while the Wildcats went just 7 for 11 from the charity stripe.
Linfield found itself down on the glass at halftime but battled hard in the second half to draw the margin near zero, Mary Hardin-Baylor eventually winning 36 to 35. Linfield led offensive rebounding 11 to 10 for the game, but failed to capitalize on their second-chance opportunities, scoring just one second-chance point.
Senior
Reece Gibb led the way for Linfield in scoring with 14 points, hitting four three-pointers to go with four rebounds.
Fellow senior
Carson Bonine followed with 12 points, all off of four three-pointers, to go with four rebounds and two assists.
Freshman
Anthony Flint added nine points with two made threes while sophomore
Trey Bryant led Linfield in rebounds with a game-high 10 to go with seven points and a game-high six assists.
Two-time All-American guard Josiah Johnson led the Crusaders in scoring with 23 points on 6 for 11 shooting from the field with four made threes.
"
Trey Bryant's 10 rebounds and our team rebounding in the second half was a real positive," said Rosenberg. "We are improving and have battled unreal adversity all year with injuries and illness, but I like our direction. Tomorrow will be another great challenge but a chance to keep improving for our confidence."
NEXT
The Wildcats will play their second game of the Quality Inn Oakwood Classic on Wednesday at 4:00, once again in the Whitworth Fieldhouse, against the St. John's Johnnies (7-3, 5-1) of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Linfield will then break for Christmas before returning to McMinnville to host the Illinois Wesleyan Titans (6-4, 3-1) of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Dec. 29.