McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Lewis & Clark men's basketball team rolled to its fifth consecutive Northwest Conference victory on Friday night at Linfield, beating the Wildcats 60-38.

The win moves the Pioneers to second place in the conference standings with a 5-2 NWC record and 10-6 overall record. The Wildcats fall to 0-7 in conference and 2-14 on the year.

Carl Appleton and Bradley Carter each netted a team-high 12 points for the Pioneers, while Appleton collected a team-high nine rebounds. Both Carter and Appleton picked up a block for the Pios. Serg Ovchinnikov also ended the night in double-figures with 11 points, while Jason Luhnow earned a game-high seven assists. 

Matt Woods earned the games only double-double, netting 15 points and pulling down 10 boards for the Wildcats. 

Lewis & Clark, who never trailed in the contest, jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, which included six points from Carter. Woods finally put Linfield on the board with 16:57 on the clock, but Lewis & Clark quickly responded with another run. This time the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run to take a 17-2 lead with 13:30 left until halftime. 

Back-to-back free-throws by Cannen Roberson earned the Pioneers their first double-digit lead of the game with half of the period gone. A three-pointer by Ovchinnikov with 1:53 remaining not only ended the scoring in the first half, but also gave the Pios their largest lead of the period at 32-19.

Carter hit the first basket of the second half, extending the Pioneer lead to 15 points. Consecutive threes by Ovchinnikov handed the Pioneers their first 20+ lead, making it a 46-25 game with 15:33 to play. The back-to-back long range shots were the start of an 11-0 run that put the Pioneers ahead 51-25 with 12:50 on the clock. Both sides went scoreless until the 9:21 mark when Woods laid one in to break the Wildcats scoreless streak.

Linfield would score just seven points the rest of the way, while the Pioneers netted nine more. 

Lewis & Clark returns home for its next game, hosting the George Fox Bruins on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.