McMinnville, Ore. - Josiah Frank tied his season-high in points with 20, but it wasn't enough as the Bearcats struggled to score at the end of each half and lost at Linfield 97-76.  In addition to his scoring, Frank also contributed five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Willamette scored the first six points of the contest on consecutive three-pointers from Ryder Hsiung and Frank and held a 10-4 lead before the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-10 lead less than five minutes into the game.  After a layup by Kahiau Bruhn cut the lead to two, Linfield scored another seven straight to pull ahead 21-12.  A three-pointer by Bruhn cut the deficit to six with just under twelve minutes left in the half, but another seven-point run put the Wildcats back ahead by a score of 30-17.  Willamette cut into the lead several times throughout the rest of the first half, but strong shooting by Linfield helped the home team take a 53-37 lead at halftime.

Hsiung started the second half with another basket to cut the lead to fourteen points, but the Wildcats were able to maintain a double-digit cushion for the opening minutes of the second half.  They held a 64-48 lead with 16:41 left in the game when the Bearcats went on a 12-0 run over four minutes to cut the lead to four at 64-40.  D'Ante Dean contributed six points during the run with Frank, Bruhn, and Annujan Tennathur accounting for the rest.  The teams continued to trade baskets until Willamette got caught on 67 points and Linfield turned a six-point lead into a thirteen-point advantage with just over six minutes left in the contest.  After fighting their way back into the game, the Bearcats only put up nine points over the final nine minutes of the game and fell 97-76.

Frank was joined in double figures by D'Ante Dean and Anujan Tennathur who each scored 13 points.  Tennathur led the Bearcats in rebounding with eight, followed by Frank, Dean, and Kahiau Bruhn with five each.  Caleb Moore led the way for Willamette with five assists.  

Willamette's next game will be at Pacific University on Friday, January 24th, at 6:00 pm.  The Bearcats return home the next night when they host the University of Puget Sound for a 4:00 pm game on Saturday, January 25th.