TACOMA, Wash. --- Linfield men's basketball (5-8, 3-2 NWC) handed the Puget Sound Loggers (9-6, 4-1 NWC) their first conference loss of the season at their place, largely thanks to junior Garrett Callsen's last-second game-winning tip in to seal a 59-58 win.
 
The Loggers, who entered the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record in Northwest Conference play, scored the first bucket of the game after a 90-second drought, which Linfield's Dayton Magaña answered on the next possession. Having led the Wildcats in scoring in the last few games, Magaña got to work early, sinking two threes in part of a 10-0 run over two minutes.
 
The threes continued to rain down in Tacoma, with Garrett Callsen and Kohsuke Fujiawara entering the mix, pushing the lead to 12 with 14:21 left in the first. Both defenses locked in for the remainder of the half, although the Loggers were able to cut into the 'Cats lead at the half, 31-23 Linfield.
 
Callsen sank his second three of the game in the first possession of the second half, while Magaña and Fujiwara helped maintain the 11-point cushion through the first media timeout. Nalu Vargas got on the board with a three, matched by Magaña with 14:27 left in the game, giving Linfield a 46-33 lead, their largest lead of the game.
 
A 15-3 run in favor of the Loggers over a nine-minute span erased the 'Cats lead, with the game being tied at 51-51 with 5:23 left, the first time the Loggers had been tied since early in the first half. Chase Bennett and Vargas sparked a 6-0 run to give Linfield some insurance late, but Puget Sound refused to bow out, climbing all the way back to take a 58-57 lead with just 1:05 to go. 
 
Neither team was able to execute off of offensive rebounds in the final minute until Callsen made a put-back layup off of Bennett's fade away jumper in the final second as the scoreboard lit up with zeros. It's the 'Cats second buzzer-beater in eight days, on the winning side of each case. Linfield has now won two of it's last three, moving to 3-2 in the NWC and in third place.
 
"I absolutely love the fight within the hearts of these young men." Said Head Coach Elijah Gurash after the win.
 
Callsen's game-winner gave him 18 points, leading all scorers, thanks to an impressive 8-11 from the field. Bennett dished five assists, continuing to lead the Wildcats in the category each game. Linfield out-shot Puget Sound from the floor, holding the Loggers to just 20% (3-15) from beyond the arc. 
 
The 'Cats finish off the road trip and a grueling five games in eight day stretch, tomorrow evening at Pacific Lutheran, set to take on the Lutes at 5 p.m.
 
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