PORTLAND, Ore. – The Lewis & Clark Pioneers hosted the Linfield Wildcats at Pamplin Sports Center Friday night, losing 71-68 in the final minutes. The tight game saw over 20 lead changes with no lead exceeding six points in the second half. 

Brenden Patrick was a key force for the Pioneers in the first half, going 4-4 from the free-throw line, and shooting 100 percent from the field, including two from behind the three-point line. Patrick, alongside Ryan Cibull and Jack Henderson, led the scoring efforts for the Pioneers with a combined 48 points. Jayden Simpson added eight points, while Ryan Trunkett and Jack Henderson led rebounding efforts with a combined 15.

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Key Moments

The teams traded the lead back and forth through most of the first half before the Wildcats went on a 6-0 run with 10:16 on the clock. The Henderson brothers snapped the run with a momentum-changing lay-up from Sam Henderson right out of a Pioneer timeout. Linfield responded with a jumper from Alex Jaczko, keeping the Pioneers at a seven-point deficit at 20-27. Patrick went on to score five points on two consecutive possessions, thanks to an assist and a key block from Cibull, cutting the Wildcats' lead down to just two points. On the Pioneers' next possession, Cibull then hit a three-pointer to give the Pioneers a 28-27 lead. Linfield barely took the lead back as the teams went into the halftime break 33-32.

The Henderson brothers helped the Pioneers take the lead again in the second with a little less than 10 minutes left on the clock. Off the bench, Sam Henderson hit two key three-pointers alongside layups from Jack Henderson and Cibull to put the Pioneers up by six. The Wildcats shifted momentum back their way with a 10-0 run to tie the game 56-56 with 7:38 left in regulation. 

The final minutes of the game saw a ferocious back-and-forth as the teams fought to hold on to a lead. Down by three, with 39 seconds left on the clock, Jack Henderson went up for a contested layup and wanted the foul call but didn't get it. Instead, Dempsey Roggenbuck rebounded the ball but drew a foul from Jalen Lowery. Roggenbuck went to the line and made his two free throws to put the Wildcats up 67-63. After a foul by Trey Bryant of the Wildcats, the Pioneers inbounded the ball and gave it to Cibull who hit a clean three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the game. Down by two points, the Pioneers were forced to foul the Wildcats. Bryant, who was 66 percent from the free-throw line on the night (4-6) missed two key free throws with 22 seconds left on the clock. Still down by two points, Cibull drove hard to the basket for a layup to tie the game with 10 seconds left in regulation. Jack Henderson caused a Wildcats turnover on the inbound but was unable to get the ball into the basket on his layup attempt. Tied 68-68 with less than 10 seconds left, Carson Bonne rebounded and passed to an open Roggenbuck who made a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the game for the Wildcats.

Deeper Look

• Cibull returned the play after missing two games due to illness for his fourth double-digit scoring game of the season
• He's scored back-to-back 14 point games
• Patrick has scored 20 points or more in three of his last four games
• Roderick O'Neal saw five minutes of playing time against the Wildcats
• Sam Henderson and Cibull combined for four blocks on the night
• Lowery and Cibull combined for 10 assists
• The Pioneers shot 83.3 percent from the free-throw line compared to the Wildcats' 64.3 percent

Looking Ahead

The Pioneers hit the road to take on the Pacific Lutheran Lutes tomorrow night. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.