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Second Half Surge Leads Men's Basketball Past Host Linfield 80-70 in Road Action
McMINNVILLE, Ore. - The Lewis & Clark men's basketball team put together a better second half of action than host Linfield, earning an 80-70 Northwest Conference victory.
The win improves the Pioneers to 11-10 overall and 6-6 in the NWC, while also helping the Pioneers keep their play-off hopes alive with four regular season games remaining. The Wildcats fall to 4-17 on the season and 2-10 in conference play.
Junior James Hollins knocked down a game-high 28 points, finishing with an 11-13 night from the floor, while also collecting a team-high five rebounds. Ross Erickson also collected a team-high five boards to go with his 12 points. Senior Marcus Wells scored 14 points for the Pios, while PJ Taylor chipped in 13.
David Lee was the Wildcats leading scorer with 23 points, while teammate Andrew Batiuk contributed 22 points. Lee led all players with eight rebounds. Zach Anderson also finished in double digits for the Wildcats scoring 15 points.
Linfield kicked off the action with a quick jumper by Lee in what would prove to be a very competitive opening 10 minutes with the two sides tying the contest on five occasions. Erickson put Lewis & Clark ahead 21-17 with 11:49 on the clock with a jumper in the paint. Bradley Carter handed the Pioneers the largest lead of the half for either side with a jumper at the 9:38 mark to earn the Pios a 25-18 advantage.
Lee and Batiuk teamed up to earn the lead back for the Wildcats, sparking a 15-6 run over five minutes in which the duo scored 14 of Linfield's 15 points. Batiuk capped off the run with a three pointer with 3:50 to go for a 33-31 Linfield advantage. The final three minutes would see the score tied two more times before Michael Moreland put Linfield ahead 38-35 on a jumper with 1:28 remaining. Hollins pulled Lewis & Clark within one point heading into the locker room with a quick jumper.
Wells hit back-to-back free-throws to start the second half, earning the lead back for the Pios. Lewis & Clark steadily increased its lead over the next five minute with the help of consecutive three pointers from Wells putting the Pios on top 50-43 with 14:42 remaining.
Linfield responded with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to earn its first lead of the half. The lead would last about a minute before the Pioneers recaptured the lead for good on a Taylor jumper at the 9:09 mark.
Hollins hit a three pointer with 3:35 on the clock, earning the Pioneers their first double digit lead of the game. The Pioneers largest lead of the game came with 2:20 remaining after a jumper by Erickson earned the team a 77-64 advantage. Despite outscoring the Pios 6-3 in the last two minutes, the Wildcats would not have enough to escape their third straight defeat.
The Pioneers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. against the Willamette Bearcats in Salem, Ore.
