McMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Linfield men's basketball (7-10, 5-4 NWC) found themselves in yet another closely contested battle, this time unable to find the clutch shot, falling to Pacific (7-11, 3-6 NWC), 63-56.
 
Pacific opened the game with a 5-0 run, until Garrett Callsen put Linfield on the board with a layup thanks to a pass from Dayton Magaña. The 'Cats run grew to 9-0 behind a three from Chase Bennett and post work by Callsen and Logan Morrill. The defense held the Boxers scoreless for over five minutes.
 
Peyton Reyes and Donovan Johnson got on the stat sheet with buckets, putting Linfield ahead 14-9 with 12:58 remaining. The Boxers clawed back, tying the game a pair of times before taking a three-point lead. Magaña tied it up once again with a three of his own, but the Boxers stormed back out to a 26-23 lead with seven to play.
 
Bennett tied the game up with a deep three, but the Boxers halted any momentum yet again, making two layups to take a four-point advantage. A back-and-forth contest, Nalu Vargas sank a three to knot it back up, 30-30. Pacific found two baskets in the final minute, leading 34-30 at halftime.
 
Like the first half, Callsen made the 'Cats first basket, matched right away by Pacific. Pacific maintained their lead over the next six minutes until Magaña and Perdue made a pair of threes that brought Linfield back to tie it up at 41-41. Just when Linfield caught back up, Pacific went on a 7-0 run, taking control of the game by holding the Wildcats without a point for three minutes.
 
A game of runs, Kohsuke Fujiwara and Dayton Magaña clawed the 'Cats back within one. Bennett sank two free throws after the Boxers were called for a flagrant foul, putting Linfield on top for the first time in the second half, 49-48.
 
In crunch time, the two squads traded buckets and the lead. Pacific pulled away slightly with 2:32 left in the game, taking a 58-54 advantage. Fujiwara matched a Pacific basket with 68 seconds left to make it 60-56 Pacific late. 
 
Unable to find the breakthrough bucket in the final minute, Pacific made three free throws down the stretch to end the Wildcats winning streak, 63-56.
 
Callsen was the lone double-digit point scorer for Linfield on Tuesday, dropping 13 on 5-7 shooting, adding 10 rebounds to secure a double-double. Fujiwara and Magaña added nine points each, where Magaña sank three from beyond the arc. Both Bennett and Fujiwara dished a team-high five assists. The shooting woes held the 'Cats to just 36% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. Pacific out-rebounding and scoring 18 points off turnovers to Linfield's seven proved the difference in the Boxers taking the season series. 
 

"The guys put up a great effort on the defensive end, played hard. In the end, we needed a couple more shots to fall, or a few more free throws, or a couple less turnovers, or a couple more rebounds." said head coach Elijah Gurash. "The little things stacked up against us."

 
The Wildcats take a weekend off just over the midway point in the NWC season, set to return on February 6 to kick off a road trip to eastern Washington, where they will face Whitman and Whitworth.
 
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