McMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Linfield men's basketball (8-13, 6-7 NWC) found their rhythm offensively, shooting nearly 50% from the field in a 74-64 win over Pacific Lutheran (10-12, 4-9 NWC).
The Lutes made the game's first basket, quickly answered by a lay-in by
Garrett Callsen. Both
Chase Bennett and Dayton Magaña made back-to-back threes, putting Linfield ahead for a short time, 8-5.
As Callsen got to work in the paint, Magaña continued to light it up beyond the arc.
Gavin Perdue joined in offensively, helping keep the momentum and the Wildcats ahead of the Lutes. Perdue handed the offense off to
Peyton Reyes who sank a three before
Donovan Johnson and
Garrett Callsen closed out the first half with buckets in the final minute, putting Linfield ahead 39-27 at the break.
The offense brought the fight into the second half opening with a
Nalu Vargas basket followed by yet another Magaña triple.
Kohsuke Fujiwara capped off the early 7-2 run, pushing the lead to it's largest of the game at 18.
Pacific Lutheran began to climb their way back to a single-digit deficit, getting as close as six points with 10 minutes left in the game. Magaña, Bennett and Callsen then sparked the offense to hold off the Lutes, going on an 11-2 run over four minutes.
Linfield held off PLU's second half push, hanging on for a 74-64 win inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium, snapped a four-game skid.
"It was great to see the hard work pay off tonight." Said head coach
Elijah Gurash following the win. "The guys have kept their heads up, continued to grind and work hard despite some recent setbacks."
Magaña's four threes led him to a team-high 21 points, adding five rebounds and four assists on the night. Callsen followed close with 17 points and seven boards, part of six Wildcats to score 7+ points. Linfield's 28 points in the paint added to the 48% from the field to help Linfield put away the Lutes.
The 'Cats look to keep rolling tomorrow night, hosting the Puget Sound Loggers at 5 p.m., a team they beat earlier this season in Tacoma thanks to a last-second bucket by
Garrett Callsen.
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