MCMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Linfield men's basketball (3-8, 1-2 NWC) fell to 1-1 on the weekend series, dropping Saturday night's match-up with the Whitworth Pirates (10-3, 4-0 NWC), 83-66. 
 
Nalu Vargas and the Linfield offense struck first, sinking a three to take a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats lead maintained for the opening 4:23 behind Vargas and Garrett Callsen going to work in the paint. Whitworth caught up, taking their first lead at the 13:48 mark with a three. The game saw 11 lead changes, most of which during the thick of the first half, mostly with Vargas' streak of buckets from beyond the arc. 
 
The threes continued to rain down on both sides, with Dayton Magaña and Chase Bennett getting in the mix. From a 29-29 tie, Whitworth went on a 17-4 run over the final 4:15 of the half, leading 46-33 at the break. 
 
The Pirates scored the first nine points of the second half, pushing the lead to 22 with the Wildcat offense scoreless for the first 5:26. Logan Morrill joined Bennett and Donovan Johnson, cutting the deficit to 15 multiple times at the midway point in the final half. Each time the Wildcats found their stride on offense, the Pirates answered right back, keeping the lead from dropping to single digits. Whitworth held off the 'Cats down the stretch, taking a 83-66 victory inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium. 
 
Whitworth remains atop the Northwest Conference standings, stalling Linfield's momentum, coming off of a last-second win over the Whitman Blues on Friday night. 
 
Last night's hero, Dayton Magaña, led the Wildcats offensively, dropping 16 points with four rebounds and an assist. Vargas was close behind with 11 points, while Garrett Callsen had a team-high eight boards. Kohsuke Fujiwara dished six of the 'Cats 14 total assists. Linfield went 12 of 32 from beyond the arc, unable to slow the Pirates offensively who shot 50% each from the field and from three. 
 
Men's basketball returns to Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Tuesday evening, hosting the Willamette Bearcats at 7:30 p.m.
 
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