McMINNVILLE, Ore. - The Northwest Conference Championship begins Thursday as the conference's top four teams battle for an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.
 
Top-seeded Linfield will host No. 4 Whitman at Ted Wilson Gymnasium while No. 2 Whitworth hosts No. 3 Pacific Lutheran at Whitworth Fieldhouse. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. The winners of the two semifinal matchups will meet in the title game with the highest remaining seed hosting.

COVERAGE
Live coverage begins on the Linfield Sports Network at 6:45 p.m. with play-by-play commentary from Joe Stuart and Isaac Milner. Live statistics will also be provided. Coverage links can be found above.

TICKETS
Tickets are available online through the NWC's sponsor, HomeTown Ticketing. There will be ticket sales via cash and credit card on site as well. Tickets went on sale starting Monday, Feb. 21. General admission tickets are $10. Tickets for children 12 and under, seniors 65+ and military personnel are $5.

Any students from a NWC school may enter free of charge and must show a valid NWC school ID at the door to qualify. For more on ticket information, visit the link above.

LINFIELD INDOOR SPECTATOR POLICY
All individuals (age 12 and over) entering any indoor athletics venue must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination (a photo is acceptable) along with photo ID. No exemptions are allowed. Masks must be worn by spectators (age 5 and over) at all times while indoors unless actively eating or drinking. No indoor concessions will be available until further notice. No food is allowed while indoors at athletic events. However, non-alcoholic drinks are allowed while in the venue.

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE
Linfield enters the NWC Championship as the tournament's No. 1 seed after posting an 18-6 overall record and a 13-3 NWC mark under head coach Shanan Rosenberg. The Wildcats finished in a three-way tie for the regular-season title but own the tiebreaker over Whitworth and Pacific Lutheran. They split the season series with the Pirates but won both meetings with the Lutes to claim the top seed. The Wildcats are a perfect 11-0 at Ted Wilson Gymnasium and will retain home-court advantage if they advance to the championship game.
 
The Wildcats averaged 80.5 points per game in the regular season while limiting opponents to 73.6 points per game with a 42.7 field goal percentage. They lead the NWC in both turnover margin (2.79) and assist/turnover ratio (1.38).
 
Dempsey Roggenbuck leads the 'Cats and ranks second in the NWC in scoring with 20.1 points per game, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 83.7 percent from the free throw line, which ranks second in the conference. Roggenbuck scored in double figures in all but one game this season. He dropped 31 points against Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 22 in his top scoring performance of NWC play.
 
Max Lommen and Aaron Baune are also scoring in double figures for the 'Cats. Lommen is averaging 14.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while leading the NWC with 2.3 steals per game. Averaging 12.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, Baune is third in the conference with 29 blocks. Trey Bryant leads the team with 87 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Carson Bonine is second on the team with 32 three-pointers made while shooting 81 percent from the free throw line. Alex Jaczko and Jackson Dupree are averaging a combined 11.2 points to add much-needed depth to the Linfield rotation.
 
WHITWORTH AT A GLANCE
Whitworth also clinched a share of the NWC regular-season title, finishing the season at 20-4 overall and 13-3 in NWC play. The Pirates sit atop the NWC rankings with a 12.5 scoring margin, putting up 83.7 points per game while limiting opponents to 71.1. They also lead the conference with a 51.1 field goal percentage.
 
The Pirates don't have anyone in the NWC's top 10 in scoring, but they have a strong nucleus of four players scoring in double figures and enter the tournament with one of the deepest benches in the conference. JT McDermott leads the way with 14.2 points per game. He leads the NWC with a 61.2 field goal percentage and has dished out 71 assists.
 
Miguel Lopez is averaging 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, ranking third in the NWC. Garrett Paxton is right behind Lopez in the scoring department, averaging 11.3 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting. Rowan Anderson ranks seventh in the NWC with 3.3 assists per game while Liam Fitzgerald is fourth with 26 blocks.
 
PACIFIC LUTHERAN AT A GLANCE
Pacific Lutheran (18-7, 13-3 NWC) was the first team to clinch a share of the NWC regular-season title but will hit the road for Spokane as the No. 3 seed in the tournament. It's the first league title for the Lutes since 1986. The Lutes own the NWC's top defense, allowing 67.3 points per game while holding opposing teams to 39.5 percent shooting. They rank second in the conference with a 49.5 field goal percentage.
 
The Lutes enter the tournament with the NWC's leading scorer in Seth Hall, who is averaging 20.3 points per game and ranks eighth with a 50.5 field goal percentage. He leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. Hall has scored 20 or more points in 11 of his 21 games, led by a 30-point performance against Willamette on Feb. 4.
 
Behind Hall is a strong supporting cast that includes Jordan Thomas and Sean McCurdy. Thomas is averaging 12 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game and is fourth in the NWC with a 54.3 field goal percentage. He is third with 48 steals. McCurdy is also in the conference's top 10 in rebounding with 6.4 per game to go with 10.8 points per game. Brett Williams has started in all 25 games and dished out 72 assists.
 
WHITMAN AT A GLANCE
Whitman (11-13, 9-7 NWC) picked up back-to-back wins over Lewis & Clark and George Fox in the final week of the regular season to punch its ticket to the NWC Championship as the No. 4 seed. Much of Whitman's success on offense has come from three-point range as the Blues are shooting 35.8 percent from beyond the arc and lead the NWC with 243 three-pointers made.
 
Three players rank in the NWC's top 20 in scoring. The group is led by Nikola Trifunovic, who ranks fifth with 17.4 points per game. He is shooting 53.4 percent from the field and leads the conference with a 46.5 three-point percentage. Trifunovic scored a season-high 31 points against Puget Sound on Jan. 15.
 
Xzavier Lino is averaging 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, which is tied for sixth. He leads the team with 16 blocks and is second to Trifunovic with 47 assists. Walter Lum is also scoring in double figures with 13 points and 4.1 rebounds per game to go with 95 assists, which ranks third among conference players.