Linfield men's basketball players Jake Downing and Chase Bennett earned College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District honors in an announcement released last week. Bennett and Downing are making their first appearances on the CSC awards list and were two of eight Northwest Conference men's basketball players recognized.
 
Bennett played in all 25 games for the Wildcats and started in 22. The Moraga, Calif., native led Linfield with 34 three-pointers and in free throw percentage (82). Bennett finished the season as the Wildcats second-leading scorer at 9.9 points per game.
 
Downing also played in all 25 contests and averaged 10.7 minutes per game. Downing shot 35 percent from the field and 32 percent on three-point attempts. The Seattle, Wash., native averaged nearly 11 minutes per game and chipped in 3.8 points per contest.
 
27 athletes across the NWC men's and women's basketball teams were awarded the honor. The honorees will advance to the Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-Americans will be announced by the CSC in later this month.