Jan. 21 NWC Men’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

At Willamette 70, Pacific 53

Salem, Ore. -- Senior post Marques Johnson scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds Tuesday to lead Willamette to a 70-53 Northwest Conference men’s basketball victory over visiting Pacific.

The win kept the Bearcats (11-3 overall, 5-1 NWC) unbeaten at home in six games, while Pacific (7-8, 4-3) saw its winning streak snapped at four games.

The two teams battled through a defensive-minded first half and the Bearcats took a 29-22 lead into intermission.  But Pacific scored the first seven points of the second half to knot the score and was still within three points (40-37) following a Dan Lumpkin lay-in with 12:38 to play, before the hosts took charge. Willamette then reeled off seven straight points.

The Bearcats also got 16 points and four assists from point guard Ryan Hepp and 14 points and five assists from wing Miles Sandgathe.

Willamette shot 54.0 percent from the field for the game, compared to just 42.6 percent for Pacific.

The Boxers were led by guard Rahim Tufts, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Joe Van Domelen added 10 points for Pacific and Lumpkin chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.

Pacific out-rebounded the Bearcats handily in the first period (21-14), but the Bearcats turned the tables in the second half, out-boarding the visitors 19-11.

At Whitworth 88, Whitman 55

Spokane, Wash. -- Whitworth College rode a second-half scoring surge to an 88-55 victory over visiting Whitman College in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Tuesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The 15th-ranked Pirates outscored the Missionaries 55-32 in the second half and led by as many as 39 points on three occasions. Whitworth shot 68.8% (22/32) from the field in the second period, including 7/12 from the three point line.

Forward Bryan Depew and guard Chase Williams each scored 24 points to lead the Pirate attack. The duo combined to make 18/25 shots. Williams was 4/6 from the three-point line. Freshman guard Paul Hafford came off of the bench to score 14 points and drain 4/5 three pointers. He has scored 48 points over the last three games, all Whitworth wins.

Cale Will, a junior guard, came off of the bench to score 13 points to lead Whitman. Kyle Dalvit, a 6-11 center, added 12 points and seven rebounds. The Missionaries made only 37.5% of their shots and also struggled from the free throw line (7/14).

Whitman led 7-6 before the Pirates broke away with a ten point run. Whitman got back within six (20-14) on a free throw by Mark Bouma before the Pirates again pulled away to lead 27-14 on a pair of free throws by Depew. Whitworth eventually led 33-23 at the break.

After Dalvit scored inside for the first basket of the second half to pull the Missionaries to within 33-25, Whitworth ran off 14 unanswered points to lead 47-25. Williams scored eight of the points, including a pair of three-point baskets. Whitman got as close as 51-34 on a lay-up by Will, but that was it as the Pirates steadily extended the lead. When Hafford sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around one by Williams, the Pirates led 79-40 with just under seven minutes to play.

Whitworth improved to 15-1 overall and 6-1 in the NWC with the win. Whitman fell to 5-11, 2-5. Both teams play at defending NWC champion Lewis & Clark College this weekend. The Missionaries visit the Pioneers on Friday night with the Pirates following on Saturday.

At Linfield 123, George Fox 91

McMinnville, Ore. -- Linfield put its offense into high gear and sped away from George Fox 123-91 in a high-flying Northwest Conference men's basketball game Tuesday night.

Linfield (10-5, 3-3 NWC) came within two points of the Ted Wilson Gym single-game scoring record. The Wildcats' 123-point outburst stands second in the 15-year-old arena's scoring records behind a 125-84 whitewash of Whitman in 2001.

The blowout was just the prescription the Wildcats needed to regain their confidence on the heels of two disappointing road losses last week to Whitworth and Whitman.

Six Wildcats scored in double figures, led by the 16 points of senior Cornell Williams. Guard Matt Larson had 15 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Nick Fusare scored 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting and Travis Jones contributed 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Zach Hollin came off the George Fox bench to score a game-high 21 in a losing effort. Aaron Schmick notched 16, Bryan Wadlow had 15 and Mark Gayman totaled 10 for the Bruins (6-9, 1-6 NWC).

Linfield opened up a double-digit lead in the game's early minutes. Fusare's dunk at 13:48 put the Wildcats in front by 10, 21-11. The Linfield lead swelled to 19 with just under six minutes left in the half when T.J. Middlesworth took a feed from Jeff Dunn and layed the ball in the basket. But GFU refused to fold its tent. Schmick scored nine of the Bruins' final 11 points in the half as the visitors crawled back to trail by 10 at the break, 63-53.

Linfield connected on 28 of 48 (.583) from the field in the first half, compared with the Bruins' 16 of 33 (.485). George Fox kept within striking distance by means of the free throw line, hitting 17 of 21 charity tosses.

Larson's three-pointer from the top of the circle put Linfield up 77-63 with 15:01 to play, then the Wildcats pumped their lead to 20 on Rob Jensen's free throw with 11:49 left. Dunn's 12-footer at 8:02 made it 100-72. For the game, the Wildcats shot .563 to the Bruins' .429. Linfield used its considerable height advantage to forge a 51-34 on the backboards. The 'Cats turned the ball over 14 times while forcing 25 Bruins turnovers.

Next up, the Wildcats host Pacific Friday night, then visit Puget Sound on Saturday. George Fox travels to Willamette Friday.