Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. -- The visiting Linfield Wildcats played a complete game from start-to-finish as the Lewis & Clark Pioneers lost 95-66 on Saturday at Pamplin Sports Center.
Linfield led nearly wire-to-wire, and while the Pioneers had moments, Lewis & Clark never got back to within a single possession.
The Pios' loss combined with Pacific Lutheran's win over Willamette has Lewis & Clark two games behind the fourth-place Lutes in the Northwest Conference standings entering the final weekend of the regular season. The Pioneers finish at George Fox and host PLU, with the Lutes competing at Pacific before the finale.
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Key Moments
An offensive surge in the late first half powered Linfield to a 47-30 halftime lead. The Wildcats scored 24 of the final 36 points over the final 7:30 of the opening period.
Linfield shot 60 percent in the first half thanks to a combined 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting by Austin Hilton and Max Lommen. Zeke Crawford had 12 points in the first half for the Pios.
Lewis & Clark (10-13, 6-8 NWC) had a couple of stretches defensively where they held Linfield's offense to a few points, but never could get close.
With a team-high 20 points, Brian Smith had his seventh game of the season with at least that total. Crawford finished with 17 points to go with three blocks.
Deeper Look
- Nick Lombardi had an eight-point, four-rebound performance off the bench, while Kody Kennedy also pulled down four rebounds to go with three points
- Daelon Floyd was limited to 14 minutes because of foul trouble, but scored seven with three rebounds
- Tanner Autencio scored eight of his Linfield team-high 18 points in the second half; Aaron Baune had 15 off the bench for the Wildcats (18-5, 12-2 NWC)
- The Pioneers were outrebounded 38-26
Looking Ahead
The Pioneers will continue to work toward a Northwest Conference playoff berth with games at George Fox and home with Pacific Lutheran next weekend.
