The Pioneer men earned their fourth straight victory as they
defeated the Linfield Wildcats 75-68 on Friday night at the Ted
Wilson Gymnasium in McMinnville, Ore (boxscore). The
Pioneers entered the game in a three-way tie for second place with
a 3-1 conference record. The Wildcats, entering 2-2 in conference,
were battling for sole possession of fifth place.
The Pioneers took the lead early, attacking the Linfield defense
and earning nine more shot attempts than the Wildcats. On the other
end of the floor, the Pioneer defense proved to be too tough for
the Wildcat offense, allowing just 21 first half points and forcing
13 turnovers. But, with nine minutes to go in the half, the
Wildcats had recovered, tying the score at 15-15. As the Wildcats
were led by their power in the paint and their roaring crowd, the
Pioneers were able to shift the momentum and take control with a
30-21 lead to enter the locker-room at halftime.
In the second half the Pioneers continued to cushion their lead,
jumping ahead by 18 points in the first 10 minutes, allowing plenty
of breathing room for the final quarter of play. It wasn't
until the last three minutes of the game that the Wildcats would
launch a series of offensive attacks, all of which proved
unsuccessful.
After shooting just 34.4% from the floor in the first twenty
minutes, the Pioneers shot 66.7% from the floor in the second half,
while going 4-6 from beyond the arc. With four players in
double-digits, the Pioneers were able to hold on for the win,
countering the Wildcat offense with a merciless attack of their
own, scoring 45 second half points.
Josh Kollasch (jr., Tucson, Ariz.) led the Pioneers with 24
points. David Berggren (sr., Tualatin, Ore.) scored 16 points
before fouling out in the final five minutes of play. James Hollins
(fr., Phoenix, Ariz.) contributed 14 points and Tyson Papenfuss
(sr., Clackamas, Ore.) added 12 points to help lead the Pioneers to
the victory.
With the win the Pioneers advance to 4-1 in conference and 10-4
overall, taking sole possession of second place in the NWC. They
will return to their home court tomorrow night, January 17, where
they have lost just one game so far this season. Saturday's
game against Willamette (3-2 NWC) will tip off at 8 pm, following
the women's game at 6 pm.
