Christian Jurlina paces Whitworth over Linfield

Eighth-ranked Whitworth dealt host Linfield a taste of its own medicine while rolling to a 79-63 victory over the Wildcats on Friday night in Northwest Conference men’s basketball action in McMinnville, Oregon.

The Pirates improved to 17-3 overall and 8-3 in the NWC by sweeping the season series against the Wildcats. Linfield (12-8, 6-5) came into the game having won five of its last six contests.

The Wildcats lead the conference in scoring defense and defensive field goal percentage this season. But it was the Whitworth defense that dominated in this contest. The Pirates held Linfield to only 35 percent shooting from the field and only 23.8 percent from 3-point range. Whitworth blocked seven shots, including four by Drew Sears.

The win is Whitworth’s 18th in a row over Linfield and the Pirates now hold a two-game lead over the Wildcats for second place in the NWC standings.

Christian Jurlina led Whitworth with a game-high 18 points, while Kyle Roach added 16 and CJ Johnson finished with 12 points off of the bench. Roach led the Bucs with seven rebounds and dished four assists. Sears tallied eight points and six boards to go along with his four blocked shots.

Mason Rodby led Linfield with 13 points and Vince Romeo came off of the bench for 12 points.

The Pirates will conclude the weekend trip with a game at Pacific University on Saturday.