Four Missionaries hit double-digits in scoring, led by senior guard Greg Caldwell with 15. Caldwell hit five of eight from the field, including three of four from long range. Another senior guard, Cale Will, finished with 14, hitting four of six from behind the arc. Freshman Ian Warner came off the bench to give the Missionaries a spark, knocking down four of five attempts for 11 points. Warner was a perfect three for three from long range. Jake Pounds finished with 10 points, and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Greg Ricker continued his consistent play from the point, scoring eight and dishing out eight assists.
Nick Fusare scored a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats, hitting eight of twelve and six of seven from the free-throw line. John Broussard had 18, Blake Shelton 12, and Sam Kreiger 11.
As they have done for most of the season, the Missionaries played solid in the first half, and went into the break down 37-36. Neither team held more than a seven point lead in the period, and the game was tied on six different occasions.
The Wildcats scored two quick baskets just after the half to extend the lead to five, but Will and Caldwell nailed back to back threes to give Whitman a one-point lead. With 15:57 left, Whitman remained ahead by one, but Linfield scored 10 straight over the next two and a half minutes to take a 55-44 advantage.
Nick Parker knocked down a three to stop the scoring streak, but the Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run to take a 16-point lead with 10:32 to go. The Missionaries were able to cut it to single digits again with 4:39 remaining on a Warner trey, but failed to get any closer, falling 89-77.
The Wildcats dominated the backboards, outrebounding Whitman 45 to 28. The Missionaries shot well from the outside, making 15 of 27 attempts. As a team, Whitman shot 45.2 percent from the floor. Linfield knocked down just five of 17 from long range, but 47.5 percent overall.
Whitman plays on the road again on Saturday night against Pacific before returning to Sherwood Center on Tuesday for a matchup with Whitworth.
Whitman vs Linfield 2/20/04 8 p.m. at Ted Wilson Gym, McMinnville, Ore. At Ted Wilson Gym, McMinnville, Ore. LINFIELD 89, WHITMAN 77 WHITMAN (6-16, 2-11 NWC) Caldwell, Greg 5-8 2-2 15; Will, Cale 5-7 0-0 14; Warner, Ian 4-5 0-0 11; Pounds, Jacob 4-10 0-1 10; Ricker, Greg 4-9 0-1 8; Peterson, Mike 1-2 2-2 5; Nelson, Casey 1-8 2-4 4; Parker, Nick 1-2 0-0 3; Airy, Matt 1-2 0-0 3; Dalvit, Kyle 1-5 0-0 2; Kofler, Erik 1-2 0-0 2; Born, Kyle 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 6-10 77. LINFIELD (14-7, 9-3 NWC) Fusare, Nick 8-12 6-7 22; Broussard, John 8-15 1-2 18; Shelton, Blake 3-9 4-5 12; Kreiger, Sam 4-6 3-4 11; McConn, Pat 2-4 2-2 7; Lewis, Chris 1-3 4-4 6; Kushiyama, Casey 1-3 2-6 5; Neill, Joe 0-5 2-2 2; Monagle, Ryan 1-1 0-0 2; Johnson, Nic 1-2 0-0 2; Wells, Joe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-61 26-34 89. Whitman....................... 36 41 - 77 Linfield...................... 37 52 - 89 3-point goals-Whitman 15-27 (Will, Cale 4-6; Warner, Ian 3-3; Caldwell, Greg 3-4; Pounds, Jacob 2-6; Peterson, Mike 1-1; Airy, Matt 1-1; Parker, Nick 1-2; Nelson, Casey 0-2; Ricker, Greg 0-2), Linfield 5-17 (Shelton, Blake 2-4; McConn, Pat 1-3; Kushiyama, Casey 1-1; Broussard, John 1-4; Neill, Joe 0-3; Lewis, Chris 0-2). Fouled out--Whitman-Ricker, Greg; Pounds, Jacob, Linfield-None. Rebounds-Whitman 28 (Pounds, Jacob 5), Linfield 45 (Shelton, Blake 8). Assists-Whitman 18 (Ricker, Greg 8), Linfield 18 (Neill, Joe 8). Total fouls-Whitman 25, Linfield 14. A-900