Linfield Pulls Away from Bearcats for 95-71 Win

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Zach Anderson scored a game-high 30 points, leading Linfield College to a 95-71 victory over Willamette University at Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 7. The NWC win upped the Wildcats record to 3-10 on the season, 1-3 in the conference. WU fell to 2-11 overall, 0-4 in the NWC.

Anderson was 10 of 18 from the field and made 5 of 9 three-pointers. He also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Four other Wildcats finished in double figures. Zach Meikle tallied 15 points and David Lee contributed 12. Andrew Batiuk and Cory Hendryx each provided 11 points.

Taylor Mounts (Sr., Wing/Post, Kailua, HI/Iolani School) scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Bearcats. Ryan Meehan (Sr., Wing, Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS/MSU-Billings) tacked on 14 points and six rebounds.

Also for Willamette, Sean Dart (Jr., Post, Bend, OR/Mountain View HS/Eastern Oregon Univ.) put in eight points and grabbed a team-high seven boards.

Linfield scored the first seven points on its way to a 15-8 start. The early offensive surge featured five points by Anderson, including a 3-pointer with 15:02 left in the half to complete the run.

Willamette countered by scoring the next four points all by Mounts -- to pull within 15-12 at the 13:42 mark. Mounts achieved the points on a driving layup and a 15-foot shot from the right baseline.

The Wildcats extended their advantage to 20-12 with five points of their own, including another 3-pointer by Anderson.

Again, Willamette rallied, with the Bearcats eventually cutting the lead to 24-22 on a 3-pointer by Mounts on an assist from Trevor Bos (Jr., G, Lakewood, CA/St. John Bosco HS) at the 9:05 mark.

The next seven points went to Linfield, increasing the Wildcats lead to 31-22 with 8:03 on the clock. Linfield later earned leads of 37-24 with 6:15 left and 41-28 with 4:43 remaining in the half.

Willamette reduced the lead to 41-34 just 44 seconds later with a 6-0 run. The string of points included two free throws by Alex Brown (Fr., Wing/Post, Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas HS), two free throws by Mounts and a rebound and a layup from Brown.

Linfield boosted its lead over the rest of the half, as the Wildcats put together an 11-1 run. Meikle provided five of the points with a layup and a 3-pointer. WUs only point during the run was a free throw by Mounts with 1:01 on the clock.

Anderson led all scorers at the intermission with 19 points. He also grabbed seven boards during the opening 20 minutes. Mounts paced WU in the first half with 12 points.

In the early minutes of the second half, the Wildcats expanded their lead to 60-37. Willamette gradually reduced the deficit and trailed by 15 points, 64-49, after Mounts nailed a 3-pointer with 11:16 remaining.

Linfield extended the margin to 74-43 at the 8:01 mark. The Bearcats never got closer than 17 points the rest of the game.

The Wildcats shot 53.8% for the game (36 of 65), while hitting 9 of 19 three-pointers (47.4%). Linfield also sank 16 of 21 free throws (76.2%) and committed just 11 turnovers.

Willamette connected on just 24 of 66 field goals (36.4%) and made only 4 of 19 three-pointers (21.1%). The Bearcats converted 19 of 26 free throws (73.1%). Both teams achieved 39 rebounds.

The Bearcats will play again on Friday, Jan. 13, when they will take on George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. (PST).