WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A strong second half that included eight made threes guided Whitman over visiting Linfield 82-52 on Saturday night at the Sherwood Athletic Center.
Chase Bennett led the Wildcats with 13 points while
Garrett Callsen finished behind with 10.
Jack Greenwood and
Lucca Hart finished with seven points each. Linfield (7-16, 2-12 NWC) shot 30 percent on 56 attempts and knocked down 4-22 shots from behind the arc. The 'Cats tallied 31 bench points.
Jai Deshpande and Jander Cline each led the Blues with 15 points a piece. Ali Efe Isik added 12 while Sean Johnson chipped in 10. Whitman (17-6, 11-3 NWC) shot 54 percent from the field, including shooting over 63 percent in the second half. The Blues converted 10-24 shots from three. Whitman outscored Linfield 46-16 in paint points and outrebounded the 'Cats 41-19.
The first 20 minutes saw 10 lead changes with neither side separating by more than a single score in the first 10 minutes. A 21-6 scoring run that lasted the final 10 minutes of the half, turned the tide heavily in favor of the Blues, as Whitman carried a 35-19 lead into halftime. Ali Efe Isik and Grant Hunt each tallied seven points for Whitman while Callsen led the 'Cats with six at the break.
The Blues controlled the tempo from the start of the second half. Whitman more than doubled the Linfield scoring output in the first nine minutes of the half, increasing the lead to as much as 29. From there, the Blues continued to pour it on growing their lead even more and securing the comfortable win.
COMING UP
Linfield returns to McMinnville on Tuesday when they host rival George Fox at 8 p.m.