The Wildcats had a stunning win over the George Fox Bruins Friday night but had an upset against the Pacific Boxers Saturday. After neck and neck play on Friday, the Wildcats prevailed 94-78. But unfortunately the ‘Cats could not keep up with the 10 point lead the Boxers left at the half and ended 73-88.

The ‘Cats played at home in the Ted Wilson Gym Friday night with 950 people in attendance.

The Bruins were leading the bulk of the first half but the ‘Cats were quick to comeback. By the end of the half the Bruins were leading by three points, 39-42.

The second half looked to be a replay of the first but in the last five minutes the Wildcats found their step and never looked back. The ‘Cats new lead never stopped growing. Heading into the last two minutes of the game, Linfield was leading by 15-points.

Junior Liam O’Reilly led scoring against the Bruins by making 11 field goals, two 3-pointers and one free throw. Senior Riley Bruil followed by scoring five field goals and three 3-pointers.

“We played extremely hard and showed how we can play when we’re really clicking and playing at the level we’re capable of. It’s just a matter of doing that consistently and having the energy and emotion to win all the time,” Sophomore Austin Hilton said.

The Wildcats made 35 out of their 60 field goal attempts, eight out of their 17 3-pointers and 16 out of their 23 free throws.

Saturday’s game against the Boxers was a disappointing one. The Wildcats were behind 11-points at the half and were not able to catch up in the second.

“We didn’t have the same energy we normally do. And we didn’t play hard enough to win. They’re a really good team and we have to play well to beat them and we didn’t,” Hilton said.

He added that their performance was opposite from Friday’s night game. The loss was the Wildcats’ first of the season.

Linfield’s overall record is 6-1 and conference record is 1-1. Hilton said that heading into conference play the team is confident and excited to show what they can do.

The Wildcats play next against Northwest Christian Wednesday in Eugene and again against Evergreen State Saturday in Olympia.

“Our team is looking forward to learning and improving from this weekend’s experiences. We enjoyed the feeling after the George Fox game and are looking forward to having that feeling happen more often,” Bruil said.