LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Trailing by two points at the intermission, Linfield outscored Ohio Northern 44-24 in the second half on the way to a convincing 75-57 victory in an opening round game Thursday at the D3hoops.com Classic at South Point Arena.

The hot-shooting Wildcats swished seven three point buckets over the final 20 minutes, earning Linfield its fifth win in six games. Linfield improved to 8-2 for the season, matching the best start after 10 games in program history. The 2018-19 squad became the sixth Wildcats team to start a season with eight wins in their first 10 contests, a feat last accomplished during the 2002-03 season.
 
"Tonight's game was a tale of two halves," said Linfield coach Shanan Rosenberg. "We had some holiday rust in the first half and really came through second half."
 
Linfield ledger
Dempsey Roggenbuck scored 20 points in 22 minutes of action, Grant Gibb snared eight rebounds and hit a trio of three pointers in the second period to pace the Wildcats.
 
Riley Bruil scored all 11 of his points in the second stanza, going 3 for 5 from three-point range while adding four rebounds, two assists plus a steal.
 
Gibb netted a dozen points, all of them coming from outside the three-point arc. Liam O'Reilly dropped in 11 points while adding six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. Reserve Max Lommen accounted six points and two steals in 11 minutes. Tanner Autencio went 2 for 3 in 19 energetic minutes off the bench.

The Wildcats went 7 for 11 from outside in the second half, hitting 11 of 22 three-point attempts for the game.
 
Ohio Northern lines
Ryan Bruns led the Polar Bears with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Bruns totaled 13 points in the first half as ONU built a 33-31 halftime advantage.
 
Daniel Donner collared topped the rebounding charts with 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.
 
Rosenberg's remarks
"Riley Bruil, Dempsey Roggenbuck, Liam O'Reilly  and Grant Gibb in particular were outstanding in the second half," said Rosenberg. "Max Lommen and Tanner Autencio gave us great minutes all night."
 
"Dempsey and Riley looked like men possessed in that second half and just wouldn't let us lose. That's what you love to see from big-minute guys.
 
"Grant Gibb going 4 for 6 from three-point territory and our team hitting 64 percent from outside in the second half really opened the game up. We had many more assists in the second half
 
"Ohio Northern did a great job rebounding and interior passing during that first half. They were tough to stop."
 
Next
Linfield takes a day off Friday to enjoy the sights of southern Nevada before returning to South Point Arena to take on Ramapo (N.J.) Saturday at 8 p.m.