Coming Up Clutch

February 14, 2009

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - With Linfield down a bucket with under two minutes to play, Cody Tesoro (Sr., Kahului, Hawaii) decided to write the script for the final seconds.

The Linfield point guard knocked down two clutch 3-pointers in a 45-second span, giving Linfield the lead and propelling the ‘Cats to a 73-67 Northwest Conference win over rival George Fox Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

In order for Tesoro’s dramatics to be possible, Linfield was forced to wage an uphill battle throughout the night. The Wildcats faced a 50-40 deficit with 13:15 to play but were able to take a momentary lead by the 8:11 mark when Austin Hunt gave Linfield a 56-55 advantage.

From there, the two teams battled back and forth over the next six minutes. After forcing a Linfield shot clock violation, George Fox took a 64-62 lead on a Jack Martin jumper with just 1:55 remaining.

Then lightning stuck in the form of Tesoro.

After a career-high 26 points Friday night, the Bruins had bottled down the Wildcats’ sparkplug to the tune of eight points over the first 38 minutes.

Then with 1:33 to play, Tesoro drilled home his first 3-pointer of the night to give Linfield a 65-64 edge. After picking up a key defensive stop, Tesoro fired home another 3-pointer from the top of the key to put Linfield in the driver’s seat for good.

Two Tesoro coversions from the foul line sealed the deal and gave the Wildcats a much needed NWC win.

The second half turnaround can be chalked up to the defensive pressure applied by the Wildcats. Linfield held George Fox to just 31 percent shooting from the field and limited the Bruins to just two free throw attempts.

In the first half of play George Fox was all but unstoppable on the offensive side of the floor. The Bruins knocked down eight of their first 13 shots to build a 19-9 lead by the 13:12 mark.

The Bruins built the lead to as many as 11 but were unable to break it open, even with Linfield center K.C. Wiser (Jr., Tigard, Ore.) saddled with two fouls. Linfield was able to cut the deficit to six after two Erik Olson free throws made it 38-32 with 32 seconds remaining in the half.

Despite shooting just 35 percent from the field as well as boasting a 1-of-8 clip from beyond the arc, Linfield found itself only down eight at 40-32 going into the break.

The win improves Linfield’s overall mark to 10-13 and their NWC record to 8-6. George Fox slips to 8-15 overall and 4-10 in conference action.

Olson led the ‘Cats with 22 points while Tesoro chipped in with 16. Matt McCollum provided the muscle inside with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Alex Stockner led the Bruins with 16 points and Evan Atwater tallied 13 points.

NEXT: Linfield returns home Friday to face off with Pacific Lutheran. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.

Erik Olson
Game-high 22 points