NEWBERG, Ore. --- Linfield men's basketball (10-14, 8-8 NWC) swept the season series against George Fox (4-21, 3-13 NWC) in dominant fashion, earning a near wire-to-wire 94-70 victory. The Wildcats 94 points is their most scored in a game this season, highlighted by a season-high 17 made three pointers.
 
Freshman Kohsuke Fujiwara put Linfield on the board first, sinking a pull-up jumper on Linfield's first possession of the game. George Fox's only lead came on the next possession, making a three to go up 3-2. From there, a 6-0 run solely from Dayton Magaña put the 'Cats ahead for the rest of the game.
 
Nalu Vargas got on the board with a triple, while Magaña sank his third in the first 5:23 to go up by seven. The three's were raining down in Newberg for the Wildcats once Fujiwara and Vargas went back-to-back and Gavin Perdue made one of his own, helping grow the led to 27-17. 
 
The offense not only lived on the perimeter, as Garrett Callsen went to work in the paint for two-straight buckets, later sinking a three of his own to add to the lead. A 14 -3 run stretched the lead past 20 with four minutes to play in the first half. Peyton Reyes capped off the massive first half run with a buzzer-beating three to end it, putting Linfield ahead comfortably, 57-33.
 
The triple crept into the second half with Fujiwara and Chase Bennett drilling a pair in the first two minutes. Linfield's offensive pace slowed a bit, but the buckets continued to fall, maintaining a 20+ point advantage for the majority of the half, reaching as many as 26.
 
Magaña added two more threes to his career resume while Callsen added a second late in the game for Linfield's final points with 1:53 remaining. The 'Cats dominated to the tune of a 94-70 win on the road, ending the season with two consecutive wins.
 
Callsen was all over the court, leading all scorers with 24 points and nine boards, adding a pair of threes to top it off. Vargas carded a double-double as one of four Wildcats to notch double-digit points in the game. Magaña sank five of Linfield's 17 threes on the night, shooting 50% from beyond the arc, while Fujiwara's three triples helped him to a career-high 17 points.
 
Linfield scored just five points off of turnovers, but they were effective on offense, shooting 57% from the field and 56% from beyond the arc. 
 
The Wildcats did their job on Saturday evening in an effort to earn a bid into the Northwest Conference Tournament, but fell short by just one game once Lewis & Clark defeated the Willamette Bearcats in Portland.
 
"I'm super proud of our team's execution tonight. They moved the ball beautifully against the zone while playing unselfishly." Said head coach Elijah Gurash.
 
"Our defensive engagement was extremely solid tonight. I'm happy for this group of young men to end the season on a winning streak, especially after all of the hard work and buy-in they've exhibited this season."
 
Men's basketball ends the season with the most overall wins since 2022-23 and most Northwest Conference wins since 2021-22, falling one game short of an NWC Tournament appearance in head coach Elijah Gurash's first year at the helm of the program. Linfield's five seniors leave behind a foundation for Gurash's Wildcats to build on for years to come.
 
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