McMINNVILLE, Ore. – For the second time this season against Pacific, Linfield looked to K.C. Wiser and their outside shooters to get past the Boxers as the Wildcats took a 76-65 win from the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Wiser finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds and Zach Anderson scored 17, including four three-pointers, to pace a night that saw the Wildcats (9-14, 5-9 NWC) shooting 54 percent from the field (27-50) and 9 of 16 from three-point range.
Colin Wester (So., Sherwood, Ore.) led a quartet of Boxers who scored in double figures, finishing with 15 points on 5 of 13 from the field and 3 of 9 from three-point range. Carson Bartlett (Jr., St. Helens, Ore.) and LeMar Anglin (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) each scored 13 points while Andrew Beatty (Jr., Lynnwood, Wash.) added 10. Pacific (3-20, 2-12 NWC) shot 37.5 percent for the game (21-56) and 5 of 18 from downtown.
After a brief 3-0 Linfield lead to open the contest, the Boxers found themselves with the slim advantage for the first half of the opening period. Pacific found themselves up five points when Charles Mosley's (So., Hillsboro, Ore.) three-pointer made it 13-8 with 11:26 to go. The Wildcats regained the lead on Michael Moreland's jumper at the 8:02 mark, but Pacific rallied to go back up two, 23-21, on a pair of Anglin free throws with 5:26 left.
Linfield came back to retake the lead on a three from Daniel Teater with 2:44 left and built up to a five-point halftime lead, 30-25.
The Wildcats kept the heat on to build a nine-point lead, going up 36-27 on an Anderson jumper three minutes into the frame. Pacific came back to within two on another Mosley three at the 15:45 mark. The Boxers were still within two points when Anderson connected on a 17-footer that sparked a 12-3 Linfield run, which gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 13 points, 57-44, with 9:28 remaining.
The Boxers rallied by going on a 14-5 run of their own, eventually cutting the deficit to 62-59 on a five-footer by Devyn Monberg (Fr., Hilo, Hawaii). Linfield, however, would end the game on a 14-6 run as the Boxers missed five of their final seven attempts from the field.
Pacific will wrap up their 2010-11 season at home next weekend. The Boxers will host Whitman on Friday night before entertaining No. 1 ranked Whitworth on Saturday. Tip-off both nights is scheduled for 8 p.m.