PORTLAND, Ore. – Linfield and Lewis & Clark had 21 lead changes over 40 minutes at the Pamplin Sports Center on Saturday night.
Cade Collins finished tied for a game-high with 18 points but the Pioneers came out on top 80-77 over the Wildcats.
Four of five Linfield starters, including Collins, finished in double figures.
Chase Bennett finished with a career-high 17 points while
Jack Greenwood also posted a career-high with 11.
Garrett Callsen tallied 14 points.
Jackson Dupree's 18 rebounds are the highest for a Linfield player since 1991.
The Wildcats finished 48 percent from the field on 62 shot attempts. Linfield shot 8-19 from behind the arc and finished with a 37-30 rebounding advantage.
Lewis & Clark led in bench points with a margin of 29-13. Sam Henderson led the Pioneers with 18 points while Isaac Ticeson and Nate Berg each finished with 11. The Pioneers shot 46 percent from the field on 65 attempts and tallied seven made threes on 19 attempts.
The Wildcats shot 51 percent in the first half and led by as much as eight with five minutes left in the first half. The Pioneers then closed the final few minutes of the half on a 15-8 scoring run to overtake Linfield at halftime 39-37. Collins led all scorers in the first half with 13 points while Bennett added seven.
Lewis & Clark's 51 percent bested Linfield's 48 percent shooting in the second half. The Pioneers outscored the 'Cats 13-7 in the final four and a half minutes to hold a three-point lead in the closing moments. Dupree's three-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked by the Pioneers (3-4, 1-1 NWC) who secured the victory.
NEXT
The 'Cats (2-5, 0-2 NWC) return to Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Friday when they host Portland Bible at 6 p.m.