NCU catches up to ‘Cats

Kicker: Hot-shooting Linfield cools down the stretch at Ted Wilson Gym

After 20 minutes of Linfield’s men’s basketball contest against Northwest Christian, an uninitiated spectator could be forgiven for mistaking the game for a three-point shooting contest.

The Beacons and Wildcats combined to attempt 24 three-point shots in the first half, with 16 of them going in. But NCU was able to keep the hot streak going a little longer, coming away with a 79-71 victory at Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Saturday.

Twelve of the Wildcats’ first 18 field-goal attempts were from downtown, including a stretch of four consecutive treys that helped Linfield open a 11 point lead with six minutes to play in the first half. That lead would have been significantly bigger had the Beacons not kept pace with their own three-point shooting firestorm.

“We were shooting lights out. It was a good game,” Linfield forward Austin Murray said. “Both teams were shooting lights-out in the first half.”

But the game hinged on what Murray said next: “They shot lights-out both halves.”

Within six minutes, NCU had drained three more triples and the game was tied.

“Some of it was timely,” Linfield coach Shanan Rosenberg said of Linfield’s lost lead. “We missed five or six free throws in a row, and they made some great plays. It’s not like we were giving up a lot of rebounds, they made some plays. Down the stretch, when the game got tight, it was a three point game for a while, we had two rim attacks and two open threes and missed all of them. That was kind of the difference in the game.”

Linfield switched gears after the break. The Wildcats attempted just six triples following half time, and made a noticeable effort to feed their posts.

“Those kids were scoring at a good rate in the first half and we tried to do that a little more in the second half,” Rosenberg said. “We have some good young big guys and we were trying to get them the ball a little more in the second half.”

“Our main goal was to work inside out,” Murray noted. “Second half, we didn’t execute our offense as well.”

Linfield shot 40 percent from the field in the back half.

“We gave ourselves opportunities. We never went through a stretch where we were really bad. We just weren’t making some plays and making some free throws to stay in a game like that,” Rosenberg said.

Starting guard Ryan Potter paced the Wildcats with 18 points and four three pointers made. Chase Walker also drained four triples to add 12 points, while Trevor Howard came off the bench to add 11 points off of three made treys and Mason Rodby was Linfield’s only double digit scorer to not put down at least three shots from downtown. He also led the Wildcats in rebounding with eight. 

“Mason Rodby played really well inside. He was active, he was getting rebounds, he was attacking,” Rosenberg said. “Mason did a lot of things well for us and made some great moves inside.”

DeQuam Walls dished out five assists off the bench.

Rosenberg was not hanging his head after the loss, Linfield’s seventh in non-conference play.

“I thought, in half-court defense, we played terrific. I couldn’t be prouder of the way we played,” he said. “Those kids did not play like a team that’s 1-6, or now 1-7; they played like a team that’s 7-1. They’re getting better and better. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t come out with the win, but I thought we really got better tonight. If these kids keep playing this way in our conference, wins are going to come our way.”

Linfield will conclude their non-conference schedule on Dec. 22 at home against Cornell College at 2 p.m.