Whitworth comeback bid falls short against Linfield 86-79

From staff reports

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Whitworth met a deficit too large to overcome on Saturday.

But not by much.

The Pirates slumped to a 16-point deficit at halftime, and their furious rally in the second half came up short in an 86-79 loss to Linfield in a Northwest Conference men’s basketball game.

The Wildcats (6-9, 3-4 NWC) led 46-30 at halftime and stretched the lead to 63-40 with Cayden Lowenbach’s layup with 15 minutes, 43 seconds remaining. Linfield led 74-55 after Danilo Petrovic’s layin with 7:05 left.

The Pirates (10-6, 5-2) outscored Linfield 26-4 over the next 61/2 minutes and cut the deficit to 81-78 with Michael Smith’s 3-pointer with 47 seconds left. Linfield’s Trey Bryant made a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, however, to put the game out of reach and end the Pirates’ six-game winning streak.

Rowan Anderson scored 17 points, Smith added 15 and Sullivan Menard 10 for the Pirates

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