Kurtis Williams – For the Review.

With one of the largest crowds of the season looking on, the Linfield men’s basketball team secured the second seed in the Northwest Conference playoffs with a victory against Whitman College on Feb. 19 only to see championship hopes dwindle after falling to George Fox University on Feb. 25.
With one of the best first-half performances of his career, senior guard Cody Tesoro scored 25 points by halftime against Whitman.
“It was just one of those nights,” Tesoro said. “I was fortunate my team was finding me.”
Tesoro ended with a game-high 30 points, hitting nine of his 14 shots, including six three-pointers. The team collectively shot 50 percent from three, while Whitman only hit 26 percent.
Backed by junior center K.C. Wiser’s 18 points and eight rebounds, the Wildcats defeated the Missionaries 74-70 to secure a home game in the first round of the NWC playoffs.
The delight would not last long. Undefeated in the NWC and ranked No. 7 nationally, Whitworth University came to McMinnville on Feb. 20 looking to finish a perfect conference schedule. In an emphatic way, Whitworth followed through.
With five players in double figures, the Pirates won 77-53, handing Linfield its worst loss of the season.
“Let’s give Whitworth a lot of credit,” head coach Larry Doty said. “They’re 16-0 [in conference], 23-2 [overall], ranked seventh in the country. It was a really off night for us and a really good night for Whitworth.”
Tesoro also felt Whitworth deserved to win the game and that Linfield was not up to the task.
“We know that we got outplayed by a really good team,” he said.
The senior guard went from hot to cold, as he shot 1-8 and finishing with five points. Wiser finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
With the victory against Whitman, Linfield earned a playoff bid and faced George Fox University on Feb. 25.
The game marked the third time the teams played, both narrow wins by the Wildcats.
In both contests, the ’Cats jumped out to comfortable 15-point halftime leads, only to have the Bruins come back within four by the end of the game.
Both games saw Linfield lead for more than 35 minutes of the 40-minute games.
George Fox shot 9-22 from behind the three-point line in Feb. 25’s playoff match, while Linfield made just one three on 12 attempts.
GFU seniors guard Jack Martin and forward Alex Stockner each scored a game-high 18 points, leading the Bruins to a 76-66 victory against the Wildcats.
The game saw 11 ties and 13 lead-changes, with the largest lead being six points by Linfield.
The Bruins, however, reclaimed the edge and, with a one-point advantage with seven and a half minutes remaining, took control.
With three minutes left in the game, George Fox went on a 10-2 run to take a 69-58 lead.
Wiser led the ’Cats with 16 points, while senior guard Cody Tesoro added 15 of his own.
The Wildcats were held to a mere 36.3 percent shooting from the field in the second half and 41.3 percent for the game. The Bruins, on the other hand, sank 44.8 percent of their shots.
With the loss, Linfield was knocked out of the NWC playoffs and finished the season with a record of 10-7 in NWC play and 12-13 overall.
This was the final game for Tesoro, Wiser, guard Jon Weber and forwards Kris Rainwater and Drew Schroeder, who are all seniors.
George Fox improved to 10-7 in the NWC and 13-13 overall, and will face conference powerhouse Whitworth University for the NWC championship.
Whitworth dismantled Lewis & Clark University 89-65 Feb. 25.
The winner of the NWC championship will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.