McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield never led in a 66-62 loss to visiting Whitworth on Saturday evening at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Nick Tripaldi's 10 points off the bench were a new high.
Chase Bennett led Linfield with 14 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Jackson Dupree also finished in double figures with 13. Linfield shot 39 percent on 56 attempts and knocked down 10-26 shots from behind the arc.
Sullivan Menard tallied a game-high 15 points followed closely by Jojo Anderson with 14 points. Whitworth shot 49 percent on 53 attempts and made 9-20 threes. The Pirates (10-5, 6-0 NWC) out-rebounded Linfield 39-25.
Garrett Callsen opened the Linfield scoring, after being responsible for the first seven points. The Pirates controlled the first half behind five made three-pointers and 55 percent shooting from the field. Whitworth led 36-30 at halftime.
In the second half, Linfield edged Whitworth in total points 32-30. In the closing minutes, the 'Cats were only down two but two consecutive empty possessions allowed the Pirates to wrangle control and close out the win.
COMING UP
The Wildcats (5-10, 0-6 NWC) return to game action Tuesday when they travel to face George Fox at 8 p.m.