Chris Forrer – For the Review. The Linfield men’s basketball team opened its preseason by losing an exhibition game against the NCAA Division I University of Portland Pilots 91-56 Nov. 7. The Pilots, a perennial challenger for the West Coast Conference title, proved to be far too much for the undersized Wildcats.
“Opening the season against a good Division-I team shows us everything we need to work on,” junior forward K.C. Wiser said. “It also gets us exposed to the larger crowds we’ll hopefully play in front of later in the season.”
The outcome of the game was never in question. Midway through the first half, UP sophomore guard Nemanja Mitrovic lit up the Wildcats with four consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 24-5 run for the Pilots.
The run carried through to the end of the period and left Linfield facing a 53-22 halftime deficit. While the ’Cats shot a respectable 40 percent from the field, they faltered behind the three-point line, making just 23 percent of their long-range jump shots.
“We aren’t a team that puts up a ton of threes, but if they’re open, we’ll take them,” Wiser said. “We don’t live and die by that shot, however.”
UP’s hot shooting carried through to the second half. The Pilots sank 52 percent of their total shots, including 12 of 24 from beyond the arc.
Not everything was in the Pilots’ favor, however. The Wildcats were able to come away with 15 steals in the contest, including three by junior guard Ryan Lobdell.
“I would like to think we forced 15 turnovers by playing at a [frantic] pace,” Wiser said. “Playing fast causes a lot of turnovers.”
The story of the game was undoubtedly written on the boards.
The Pilots, who outsized the ’Cats at nearly every position, held a dominant edge in rebounding the ball at 44-25.
Wiser led the Wildcats in the game with 11 points. Senior point guard Cody Tesoro and junior Brady Martin each contributed 10.
“My team just got me in positions where I could score,” Wiser said. “My shots could have been falling better, though.”
Despite opening with a lopsided defeat, the Wildcats are predicted to finish in a tie for second in the Northwest Conference with the University of Puget Sound and behind Whitworth University. Whitworth and UPS have traded conference titles for the last seven years, but, with some sizable additions in the offseason including Martin, a transfer from Chemeketa Community College, and freshman point guard Joseph Vance, the ’Cats may have enough firepower to make a run for the title themselves.
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Pilots topple ’Cats
November 13, 2009
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