MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Lewis & Clark College men's basketball never trailed in Friday's Northwest Conference road contest at Ted Wilson Gymnasium against Linfield University, but the Wildcats rallied and forced the Pioneers to the free throw line in the final 30 seconds. Junior Taien Jackson converted three free throws and senior Sam Henderson added the final one with a second remaining to secure the 63-61 win.
 
THE BASICS
 
Lewis & Clark 63, Linfield 61
(Lewis & Clark 7-7, 3-2 NWC)
(Linfield 5-9, 2-3 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Andre Treadwell scored went 4-of-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc and scored all of his team high 14 points in the first half of Friday's game.
 
Senior Griffin Datcher IV and Jackson each finished with 11 points for the Pioneers. Datcher IV shot 62.5% (5-8) from the floor, including two dunks late in the game and led the team with four rebounds and three assists. Jackson was 3-for-5 (60%) with two treys and 3-for-4 (75%) from the free throw line.
 
Henderson and fellow senior Mikey Medlock Jr. finished third and fourth on the team with eight and seven points, respectively. Henderson went 4-for-6 from the charity stripe and added two boards and two assists. Medlock Jr. was the only other Pioneer besides Treadwell and Jackson to hit a shot from long range. He finished with two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
 
Jackson and Treadwell started out hot for Lewis & Clark as the duo scored 16 of the team's first 24 points. The Pioneers led 24-12 at 8:42 in the first half after Jackson found Treadwell for a three-pointer. After Henderson made his first free throws of the game, Treadwell knocked down his third and fourth treys to give Lewis & Clark their largest lead, 32-14 with seven minutes before the break. A 10-4 Linfield run would cut the Pioneers lead to 12 at halftime.
 
Lewis & Clark was able to hold onto their double-digit lead for the first part of the second half, but Linfield gradually chipped away behind Cade Collins, who finished with a game-high 24 points. The Wildcats finally drew even at 53-53 when Chase Bennett hit two free throws with 3:08 remaining.
 
The Pioneers responded as Datcher IV threw down back-to-back dunks at the 1:29 and 0:58 marks to push the lead back to four at 59-55. After Linfield closed within two points in the final minute, Jackson connected on three of four free throws and Henderson hit one of two after drawing the foul on an offensive rebound, to seal the victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

• Treadwell has made four three pointers in back-to-back games and is 8-11 (72.7%) from beyond the arc in those two games.
• Jackson and junior Kody Uyesugi lead the team this season with 19 assists each.
• Datcher IV has gone 5-for-8 in both times he has played in Ted Wilson Gym, last season he scored 13 points after going 3-4 from the free throw line.
• The Pioneers have won three in a row against the Wildcats and four of the last five in the series, including two in a row in McMinnville. The last time the Pioneers defeated the Wildcats on their home court in consecutive games was between the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons. Lewis & Clark won 101-89 on February 28, 2001 and 104-65 on January 18, 2002.  

 
WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark returns to Pamplin Sports Center to host Puget Sound at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.