The homestanding Bruins held as much as a six-point lead in the first seven minutes of the game before the bigger Wildcats began to assert themselves. Blake Shelton's 3-pointer gave Linfield a 15-14 edge with 12:31 left in the half, and the visitors stretched it to 38-29 at the break.
Two free throws by T.J. Middlesworth gave Linfield its largest lead at 40-29 early in the second half, but a 9-0 run midway through the period enabled the Bruins to battle back for a 51-47 advantage after a layup by Chris Parker with 9:24 to go. Aaron Schmick's two free throws with 6:43 left made it 60-57 Bruins, but then the Wildcats went to work.
A free throw and a layup by Nick Fusare tied it at the 4:11 mark, and Casey Kushiyama hit two free throws at 3:41 to give Linfield a lead it would not relinquish. The teams traded a pair of baskets, and the Bruins had a chance to tie with Linfield leading 66-64 in the waning seconds, only to have Schmick's driving layup roll off the rim with 14 seconds left. Fusare was fouled and hit two foul shots to ice it with 12 seconds left, and Shelton hit a layup as time expired for the final margin.
Mark Gayman led the Bruins with 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Ben Melvin scored 17 and Schmick 12. Schmick and Melvin each had 3 assists, and Gayman picked up 4 steals.
Shelton paced the Wildcats with 18 points, followd by Fusare and Chris Lewis with 13 each and Middlesworth with 10. Fusare's 7 boards led the Wildcats to a 43-35 rebounding edge. Joe Neill had 6 assists. Fusare canned 9-10 free throws as the visitors outscored the home team at the line, making 23-25 to 9-11 for the Bruins.
George Fox fell to 6-14 overall and 2-9 in the conference, while Linfield, with its 9th straight win over the Bruins, improved to 12-7 overall and 7-3 in the league.
The Bruins visit Willamette University and the Wildcats host Pacific University Friday (Feb. 13), both games at 8:00 p.m. following women's games at 6:00 p.m.