’Cats come back with a win at weekend games

Basketball5 — Freshman guard Ryan Potter (21) looks to pass the ball during the first half of the Bon Appetite Classic against State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury. Potter had eight points that night. SUNY Old Westbury defeated the Wildcats 73-62.
Tyson Takeuchi/Senior sports photographer

The Linfield men’s basketball team brought home their first win of the season in the Bon Appetit Classic against Portland Bible College on Nov. 17, winning 82-63. They had double digit scoring coming from four different players and barely every missed their free throws, shooting 88 percent from the line.

Freshmen guards Jackson Goin and Ryan Potter were the high point getters for Linfield in the game, with Goin scoring 16 and Potter right behind at 15.

Every single one of Potter’s points came from deep, as he made five three-pointers in the game.

As a team, Linfield shot 42.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from the line. They pulled in a total of 42 rebounds and were dropping dimes with 16 assists.

Senior guard Ryan Cali was the leader in those two categories, grabbing seven boards, especially impressive due to him being tied for shortest player on the team, and passing for three assists. Cali also went 6-6 from the charity stripe, increasing his season free throw average to 89 percent.

The Wildcat defense was all over the place, forcing Portland Bible to give up 14 turnovers and only allowing them to shoot 33 percent in the second half. They also had the arch locked down, holding Portland Bible to 15 percent shooting from three-point in the second.

While they did get their first win, they also took their first loss against State University of New York at Old Westbury. They just couldn’t seem to get things going in the first half, and while they kept up with Old Westbury in the second, they were just too far behind to catch up.

Goin was again the high scorer in the game with 17, and also pulled in six rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win. It was the speed and agility of Old Westbury’s 6’6” senior guard Tyrik Tucker which got the best of Linfield, scoring 25 and knocking down 10 of 12 free throws.