SALEM, Ore. — Linfield struggled to keep pace with the Willamette Bearcats, falling 80-62 in a Northwest Conference matchup on Friday night at Cone Field House. The loss drops Linfield to 7-16 overall and 4-10 in conference play.
Linfield featured a trio of players who reached double figures with
Cade Collins,
Jack Greenwood and
Zach Luz each scoring 10 points. Collins added six rebounds and two assists while Greenwood contributed three rebounds and three assists and Luz notched three steals in 15 minutes of action off the bench.
The Wildcats started strong, with
Jake Downing netting a three-pointer to tie the game at 20. However, Willamette's D'Ante Dean dominated inside, finishing with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, along with seven rebounds and four assists. The Bearcats outscored Linfield 42-31 in the second half to pull away.
Linfield shot 43.3% from the field yet struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 4-of-14 three-point attempts. The Wildcats also committed 21 turnovers leading to 14 points for Willamette. Despite the loss, Linfield's bench outscored Willamette's reserves 31-19, with contributions from
Garrett Callsen with six points and Dayton Magaña adding eight.
Defensively, Linfield recorded six blocked shots, including two from
Logan Morrill, but couldn't contain Willamette's inside game, as the Bearcats scored 56 points in the paint.
NEXT
Linfield continues its road trip with a game against Lewis & Clark on Saturday afternoon in Pamplin Sports Center with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m.