MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College men's basketball turned a one-point halftime advantage into a 20-point lead midway through the second half and snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 78-63 Northwest Conference road win over Linfield University on Saturday night.
 
THE BASICS
 
Lewis & Clark 78, Linfield 63
(Lewis & Clark 6-12, 2-7 NWC)
(Linfield 6-12, 1-8 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Mikey Medlock Jr. was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line and finished with a team-high 18 points to lead four Pioneers in double digits against the Wildcats. Medlock Jr. scored 12 of his 18 points in the game's final six minutes.
 
Sophomore TJ Muhammad scored all 15 of his points after halftime, including going 3-6 from long range. He was 2-2 from the charity stripe and added an assist and a steal.
 
Juniors Griffin Datcher IV (13 points) and Sebastian DePrez (10 points) were third and fourth on the team in scoring and rounded out the players in double digits. Datcher IV led the team with eight rebounds and tied fellow junior Ryan Trunkett (2 points) with three assists on the night. DePrez was 5-6 (83.3%) from the floor and second on the team, along with Trunkett with seven boards.
 
Isaac Ticeson (8 points) scored a layup to open the game. The junior then found classmate Sam Henderson (9 points) outside the arc to give the Pioneers an early 5-2 lead at 17:36. Linfield took their first lead coming out of the first media timeout, 6-5. Back-to-back jumpers by DePrez and a free throw by junior Nate Berg (3 points) gave Lewis & Clark a 10-8 lead with just under 13 minutes before the break.  Over the next nine minutes, the Pioneers would hold leads ranging from one to three points and the Wildcats would tie the game three times.  The lead would change four times in the final four minutes before halftime, and the game would be tied once. Lewis & Clark would prevail with a 27-26 lead at the half.
 
Linfield hit a three-pointer to open the second half and went up 29-27, their final lead of the game. Ticeson, who finished 4-5 (80%) from the field, tied the game two possessions later for the seventh and final time. Datcher IV gave the Pioneers their first double-digit lead, 41-31, on a traditional three-point play at 14:27. He later gave Lewis & Clark their largest lead of the night, 62-42, off a steal and a dunk.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

• The Pioneers were 8-8 from the free throw line in the final 1:53 in the game.
• Henderson finished 3-4 (75%) from three-point range against Linfield.
• Muhammad scored 13 points against Linfield in December. He has scored 28 points and shot 60% FG, 57.1 3FG%, and 85.7% against the Wildcats.
• Lewis & Clark's +15 rebounds (38-23) is the largest advantage for the team in NWC play this season.

WHO'S NEXT
 
The Pioneers travel to Newberg on Saturday to take on George Fox. The Bruins won the first matchup in Pamplin 91-84 in the NWC opener for both teams.