MCMINNVILLE, ORE. – The Linfield Wildcats were eliminated from the Northwest Conference tournament Friday night, falling 82-79 to the Whitman Blues (12-13, 9-7) in Ted Wilson Gymnasium. It was the Wildcats' only home loss of the season.
"Tough way to finish a great year. I'm super proud of the way our guys have competed all year, tonight was no exception," said head coach
Shanan Rosenberg. "Whitman played lights out and we didn't quite shoot it well enough from the line and the arc to hold on for a win."
The contest was back and forth all night, with seven ties and 15 lead changes occurring through the game. Neither team led by more than six points in the first half, and both teams would lead by seven, the largest of the night at different points in the second half.
Neither squad had any trouble finding their offensive flow early on, with both sides shooting over 50 percent in the first half and eventually over 53 percent for the game.
Holding on to a slim 43-42 lead at halftime on a pair of made free throws by graduate senior
Dempsey Roggenbuck, Linfield opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a seven-point lead at 51-44 with 16:23 to play on a mid-range jumper by freshman
Trey Bryant.
However, Whitman immediately responded with a 12-0 run of their own, fueled by a four point play by Nikola Trifunovic and back-to-back threes by Xzavier Lino, taking the lead at 53-51 before stretching it to a five point difference with 13:36 to go. They then stretched the lead to seven 61-54 when Walter Lum drained a mid-range shot with 12:23 left.
After trailing for a long stretch of the second half Linfield battled back and finally regained the lead with 5:25 to play when senior
Aaron Baune hit a pair of free throws to make the score 74-73.
But the two teams would trade leads five more times in the final minutes of the game. The Wildcats had their final lead of the game at 78-77 with 1:28 left on a made layup by fifth-year senior
Max Lommen.
The Blues grabbed it back on a made shot by Lum with 1:10 left to make it 79-78, and although Linfield would tie the game at 79 on a made free throw by sophomore
Jackson Dupree, Trifunovic buried a three with 37 seconds remaining that proved to be the dagger, making the score it's eventual final at 82-79.
The next play Roggenbuck was called for a charge on a drive to the basket with 16 seconds left, leading Linfield to burn their last timeout and have to foul.
With only four fouls against them in the half, Linfield was forced to foul Whitman thrice before finally putting Lum at the line for a one-and-one.
Lum missed the free throw, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie the game on the final possession, but a deep three from Baune as time expired hit the back rim and bounced out, sending Whitman to the NWC Tournament title game for the fifth consecutive season. They will face the Whitworth Pirates, who will be making their 18
th consecutive appearance in the NWC Tournament Final.
Roggenbuck finished as the Wildcats' leading scorer on the night, finishing with 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting and 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Baune followed with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting while tying his season high in assists with five. He also pulled down three rebounds with a block and a steal.
Lommen contributed 14 on 7-for-12 shooting, nabbing eight rebounds and recording three steals. Bryant contributed 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, tied Lommen for the game high in rebounds with eight and dished out six assists.
On the Whitman side just four players scored all 82 of Whitman's points. They were led by Lino, who scored 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting with a career best 7-of-10 shooting from three while recording five rebounds and four assists. Lum and Jai Deshpande added 21 a piece while Trifunovic scored 17 with five rebounds and four assists.
Whitman's strength from behind the three-point line was on display all night. They shot 53.3 percent from the field while going 42.4 percent from beyond the arc (14-for-33) and 66.7 percent from the line (4-for-6).
Although Linfield found good looks all night, outshooting Whitman from the field with a 55.2 percent mark for the game, their struggles from three against the hot-shooting Blues hindered their ability to break away throughout the game. The Wildcats finished with just 22.2 percent three-point shooting (4-for-18) and 64.7 percent on free throws (11-of-17).
"Ultimately their three-point shooting made the difference and you have to give them credit for that," said Rosenberg.
Linfield also outrebounded Whitman 31-26 and turned the ball over just six times compared to Whitman's 10, scoring 13 points off of turnovers to the Blues' six, and outscored Whitman in the paint 50-32.
"Many thanks to our great crowd, families and fans. We are so grateful for your support," said Rosenberg. "And to our seniors for being so amazing through the years. I love them dearly and they will be missed."
"We'll be a long shot now for the national tournament, but all we can do is wait and see."
NEXT
With an 18-6 record and 13-3 mark in NWC play, the fate of the Wildcats' season now lies in the hands of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The full NCAA Division III Tournament field will be announced Monday, Feb. 28, with the selection show airing on NCAA.com.
Should Linfield make the cut, they will play in the first round of the tournament on March 4.