Balanced Attack Leads Knights Over Linfield
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Five Knights scored in double figures to push Warner Pacific to a 79-60 non-conference win over Linfield at Bart Valentine Court tonight in Portland.
Warner Pacific also used a pressing defense to force the visiting Wildcats into 27 turnovers which led directly to 28 points for the Knights.
The early moments of the game belonged to Linfield, as they opened up a 9-2 lead thanks in part to a pair of putback buckets from Andrew Batiuk. The Knight shooters began to find the range and rallied to take the lead for the first time on a William Sharp layup (17-16) with just over 10 minutes gone in the first period. Nick Schultens came off the bench to provide the scoring spark for WP, as the senior dropped in 10 points in the period.
A three point make from Linfield’s Zach Meilke tied the game at 19-19, but the Knights went on a 10-0 run and did not trail again. The teams would trade baskets for the rest of the half and WP went into the locker rooms with a 36-24 lead.
Linfield started the second period strong, closing the gap to five (46-41) on a trey from Michael Moreland with 14:28 to play. That’s where the Knight press began to pay dividends and WP stretched out to a 59-43 lead after a Sean Gaines free throw. The Knight advantage reached as many as 22 points late in the game before the hosts settled for the 79-60 final score.
Schultens finished with 15 points to lead Warner Pacific, who improved to 8-3 on the season. Stephen Harris worked hard in the paint for 12 points and 10 rebounds. Gaines (11), Biniam Tadele (11), and Doug Thomas (10) also tallied double figure scoring.
Zach Anderson found enough space for a game high 23 points for Linfield (2-7). Zach Meilke added 10 points and a game high 14 rebounds.