Grant Lucas – Sports editor. The Linfield men’s basketball team opened its 2009 season on a low note when it dropped three games against Northwest Christian, Northwest and Concordia universities Nov. 20, Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, respectively.
With the three losses, Linfield slips to 0-3 overall.
The Wildcats couldn’t heat up from the field Nov. 20 as they were held to 35-percent shooting while turning the ball over 18 times.
NCU shut Linfield out for nearly five minutes, jumping to a 9-0 lead. The Beacons attained their biggest lead of the half with four minutes left when junior Kellen Spicer dropped in a layup to give them a 14-point lead.
After a three-pointer by senior Cody Tesoro brought Linfield to within seven points, NCU senior Ben Voogd sank a three of his own with two seconds left, giving the Beacons a 10-point lead at halftime.
NCU continued to dominate during the second half, building a 19-point advantage with less than 17 minutes remaining.
Although the Wildcats trimmed the deficit down to eight on several occasions, they couldn’t overcome cold shooting as the Beacons held off for a 70-59 victory.
Voogd led the way for NCU, tallying 16 points. Tesoro was the high-point man for Linfield with 22, while junior K.C. Wiser chipped in with 12 points.
The Northwest Eagles used a 14-point first-half run to pull away from Linfied in their 79-59 win Nov. 28.
In a six-minute span, the Eagles took hold of the game, scoring 14-straight points as they entered halftime with an 18-point lead. The ’Cats would not come closer than 12 points in the second half, losing their second-consecutive game.
Tesoro contributed again with 22 points while pulling down six rebounds and recording four steals. Wiser scored eight points in the contest along with five rebounds, as the ’Cats shot a mere 37 percent from the floor.
Eagle senior Blake Soloman led Northwest with 18 points and four steals, while junior Greg Peters added 16 points and 10 boards off the bench.
After being out-rebounded 51-30 by the Eagles, the Wildcats continued to struggle on the glass as they were dominated again, 55-37, this time by Concordia. This advantage, along with 32 points from the free-throw line, carried the Cavaliers to a 99-90 win.
With Wiser out of the game because of injury, Linfield was outmuscled in the paint, allowing Concordia to get to the line 43 times.
Trailing by 13 at the break, the ’Cats couldn’t put a string of shots together, shooting only 38 percent from the field.
A 19-point Concordia lead was diminished to five with a minute to play after Tesoro hit a pair of free throws. Concordia remained calm, however, hitting nine of 10 to seal the victory.
Concordia sophomore Jourdan Sweeney recorded a double-double on the night with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Alex Theifenthaler contributed with 19 points and nine boards for the Cavs.
Along with a career-high 27 points from Tesoro, freshman Joseph Vance stepped up with 21.
Linfield continues regular season play when it hosts Corban College at 8 p.m. Dec. 5.