By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Willamette University men's basketball team overcame a late deficit to stun host Linfield University in a 98-95 overtime thriller on Tuesday, Jan. 3. The Bearcats were deadly from long range, knocking down 19 three-pointers, and combined for 25 assists on the night.
Senior Jack Boydell (Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) led the charge, draining seven triples to score 31 points and finish just three points shy of his career high of 34, set against Multnomah University on Nov. 15, 2022. Willamette has connected on 41 three-pointers in the past two games.
The Bearcats had a great start, jumping out to a 17-9 lead in the opening six minutes of the game. The Wildcats closed the gap, but a Ryder Hsiung (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) three-pointer kept Willamette in front, 25-19, at the midpoint of the half.
Linfield made a run to take the lead at the five-minute mark and led 49-41 at halftime. Both teams were on fire from long range, combining for 17 three-pointers before the break.
Back-to-back three-pointers and a three-point play stretched the Linfield lead to 16 with just under nine minutes to play in the game. Willamette countered with four straight from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 74-68.
The Wildcats held a 12-point advantage at the 3:11 mark before the Bearcats made a final surge. Boydell and Hsiung both added three-pointers and Willamette trailed by two with under 30 seconds left to play. Boydell drove to the hoop and drew a foul, calmly converting a pair of free throws to knot the game with just 24 seconds remaining. The Bearcats held Linfield from scoring on the final possession to force overtime.
Overtime continued to provide a thrilling back-and-forth as the teams added to their impressive three-point totals. Linfield hit its second triple of overtime to lead, 93-90, before a lay-up from Gavin Rippere (Vancouver, WA/Salinas HS) and a three from Josiah Frank (Turlock, CA/John H. Pitman HS) put the Bearcats back in front, 95-93, with 2:06 on the clock.
After a pair of Linfield free throws, Boydell converted a free throw. The Bearcats forced a turnover and Frank drove to the basket with the shot clock running out, banking a short jumper to put the Bearcats in front, 98-95, with just 11 seconds remaining.
Willamette made a strong defensive stand and didn't allow Linfield to get a shot off in the final seconds to secure the win. The win was the first for the Bearcats over Linfield since 2016.
Head Coach Kip Ioane had high praise for his team. "That was maybe the most proud of a group of kids I've been in my career. To snap a 13-game losing streak to a great Linfield program is something, but to do it in a that fashion [25 assists as a team] is amazing." He added, "My staff came up with a great game plan and the leaders on the team got everyone to buy in and we didn't blink."
In addition to his game-high 31 points, Boydell added seven assists and went 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Frank went 9-for-11 from the field and 5-for-6 from beyond the arc to finish with 28 points, adding three steals.
Hsiung was 5-for-7 from the three-point line, scoring 21 points on the night. The Bearcats combined to shoot 19-for-34 (56%) from the three-point line and handed out 25 assists on 33 baskets during the game.
Willamette improves to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in the Northwest Conference. Linfield drops to 4-7 on the season, 1-2 in the NWC. The Bearcats return home to face the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6:00 p.m. (PST).
