MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - In its first trip back to Linfield where it handed the Wildcats a stunning Northwest Conference semifinal defeat, the Whitman College men's basketball team turned back Linfield again, this time a 74-47 domination on Friday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Xzavier Lino posted game highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blues (13-3, 6-1 NWC) who remain tied with Whitworth atop the league standings. Jai Deshpande added 16 points and four boards off the bench and Murphy Caffo chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Trey Bryant scored a team-high 10 points for the Wildcats who mustered only 15 first-half points against an aggressive Whitman defense. Bryant scored the first two baskets of the game for Linfield only to see the Blues unleash a 16-2 run. Desphande drained a three pointer after being freshly inserted in the game, then later scored inside the painted area to put his team up by three points.
The train kept moving as Caffo, sandwiched around an Alex Pape bucket, scored back-to-back baskets to put Whitman up 18-6 with 7:23 to play. It was Lino's turn to heat up as he scored at the hoop and hit from distance to extend the lead to 16 points. Deshpande caught fire down the stretch of the first half, hitting a three pointer with 1:30 to play then a layup with just under one minute remaining to give the Blues a 33-15 halftime lead.
Reece Gibb nailed a three pointer for the Wildcats only seven seconds into the half, but both Walter Lum and Lino countered with three balls of their own. Later, Desphande scored back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 27 points with 13:38 to play.
Though a Linfield comeback was unlikely to be in the cards, Lino put the game to bed when he nailed consecutive three pointers to give his team a 64-30 lead with 7:06 remaining in the game.
The Blues will look to keep it rolling on Saturday with a visit to Willamette. Tipoff with the Bearcats is set for 6:00 p.m.
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