LINFIELD UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL VERSUS WILLAMETTE • JANUARY 3, 2023

THE MIRACLE SEASON

Deemed a private matter between the students and the college, the nature of the infractions were never revealed.

The suspensions cut a wide gash in Linfield’s Northwest Conference title aspirations. The Wildcats had been favored to capture their third straight league title. Linfield held a 4-2 record at the time of the suspensions.

It remains the most severe punishment ever dished out in Linfield Athletics history. Three of the 10 players who made the trip to Alaska were not disciplined: Bob Lamb of Tigard, John Puryear from Portland, and Tom Rohlffs of Beaverton. Lamb was a starter and three-year letterman. Each of the three had started one game in Alaska.

Losing nine players due to suspension just six games into the 1966-67 season could have proven fatal, but a retooled squad emerged to capture a NAIA playoff berth

One of the greatest stories in Linfield Athletics history came as a result of severe adversity thrust upon the 1966-67 Wildcats men’s basketball team.

The day after returning to campus from a December trip to play in a tournament in Alaska, Wildcats coach Ted Wilson and athletic director Paul Durham announced that seven members of team would be suspended for the remainder of the season for disciplinary reasons.

The seven, one of whom was an all-Northwest Conference selection the season prior, were dropped from the squad after Wilson discovered conduct violations during the trip to Alaska.

“It was a new experience for me,” Durham said. “In my opinion, it was basically a minor offense. Generally, people are being understanding and forgiving; I certainly am in this situation.”

The result of the suspensions meant the Wildcats would be without their second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth best scorers — amounting to a deficit of 64.8 points per game.

In an effort to continue the season, Wilson promoted nine members from the junior varsity team. They joined the three remaining holdovers, while adding 6-foot-7 Dan Beeson, who had been on the squad his freshman year.

To everyone’s amazement, the retooled Linfield squad came together to become a formidable team, sharing the Northwest Conference title with a 14-4 record and following that by claiming the District 2 championship.

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THE MIRACLE SEASON

The late-season surge propelled Linfield to the NAIA Championship Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Wildcats came tantalizingly close to delivering the surprise of the sports year.

A heavy underdog in its opening-round game against topranked St. Benedict’s, Linfield battled down to the wire and nearly upset the Ravens before dropping an 82-75 decision.

In that game, Linfield owned a 70-68 advantage with 4½ minutes to play, but saw its lead slip away after Beeson, a stalwart on the backboards, was sent to the bench with five fouls.

Beeson led Linfield with 17 points, sinking 8 of 9 field goal attempts, and also shared top rebounding honors with Puryear, each with nine boards. Tom Rohlffs chipped in with 16 points while Lamb and Puryear finished with 14 apiece.

The Northwest Conference’s youngest team in 1966-67 completed the so-called “Miracle Season” with a 20-10 record.

Led the determined leadership of Wilson, the team achieved unexpected season success due of its coachability, fundamentals, belief in one another, talent, attitude, intense work ethic, fun, and improvement to reach its team and individual potential. Under Wilson’s guidance, the Wildcats capitalized on every player’s individual talents. Competing with a “chip on their shoulder” in order to prove the experts wrong, the 1966-67 Wildcats performed as a cohesive unit and didn’t consider individual egos as part of a winning formula.

1966-67 WILDCATS - Back row (l to r): Randy Marshall, Dennis Warren, John Puryear, Dan Beeson, Don Huld, Dale Carpenter, Ken Sandin, Terry Durham. Front row: Ross Peterson, Dan Carney, Mike Conklin, Coach Ted Wilson, Tom Rohlffs, Bob Lamb, Dan Myers.

The team defeated every conference opponent at least once, won two out of three games over Oregon College of Education in the District 2 playoffs, and battled eventual NAIA champion St. Benedict’s in Kansas City down to the wire.

As such, the 1966-67 men’s basketball season remains as one of the greatest sports accomplishments in Linfield history.

Special thanks to Tom Rohlffs from whose book “The Miracle Season” the content for this summary was compiled.

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT

a family precedent

The work ethic instilled by Reece Gibb’s family have set the table for success in college, both in the classroom and on the basketball court

by MARISSA DOLSON ’24

Deciding to attend Linfield University while continuing his basketball journey was a fairly easy decision for Reece Gibb.

“My brother, Grant, and Will Burghardt transferred here to play for Coach (Shanan Rosenberg) when I was a senior in high school. Those connections and the opportunity to play with Grant and Will, made Linfield the best and most obvious choice.”

The Longview, Washington, native and Mark Morris High School graduate has established his own identity during his three-plus seasons in a Wildcats uniform.

“Grant was a senior on the basketball team here my freshman year. I was so fortunate for that because it was our first opportunity to play on the same team together,” says Reece. “He was a great older brother in helping me learn the ropes of college life and really helping ease the transition.

“Finding my own identity here was quite easy with the friends I made as a freshman and have continued to make since. Being a part of the basketball program allowed me to see where my role has been as a friend and teammate to everyone.”

Quickly and seemingly effortlessly, Reece Gibb found his way around Linfield and began making the most of his college experi ence. Gibb accredits a lot of his favorite memories and relationships through the connections he’s made on the basketball court.

“Through basketball especially, I’ve made so many lifelong friends. Every year as the upperclassmen graduate and new guys come in, I’ve been able to make and keep some amazing friends,” he says. “Some of the more obvious memories are involved around big wins and cutting down the nets from being conference champions. But the memories of the trips to California, bus rides to Washington, and even spending a day at Disneyland are lifelong memories I’ll never forget. Just all the quality time I’ve been able to spend with my teammates.”

Unlike his transition to college life, Gibb’s success hasn’t always come easy on the basketball court. Yet his work ethic and motivation have allowed him to flourish on the court and in the classroom. He dedicates his drive to his family members.

Gibb credits much of his success to his mother Sharon, father Tyler, brothers Jayson and Grant, and his sister, Lauren. Sports has been a big focal point in their family and have enabled Reece’s competitive spirit to shine through.

“I’ve always valued having a strong work ethic,” he says. “I believed it’s the most important aspect for growth in any subject such as basketball. I learned from a young age that to become a better basketball player, it takes hours and hours in the gym outside of the expected practice and game hours. I’ve tried my best to take that to heart and work my hardest.”

“As the youngest, I have been fortunate to learn from my siblings and their experiences. Through this, they have been great guides through it all and always been there to help me.”

The Gibb family dynamic shaped Reece to grow to be a hard-working and competitive person. He has always looked up to and admired his family. The endless support he’s received are part of what makes his journey so fulfilling.

“My role model in life has always been my father. He is a hard-working, selfless man that I can go to for anything at any time of the day. He and my mother have always been such a great example to our family. I am truly so fortunate for them.”

When Gibb isn’t on the basketball court, he is working towards a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in

“My career goals are first, to get my master’s in “Business Design and Innovation” this coming year here at Linfield while playing one more year of basketball. After that, I would love to ideally work in sales or marketing in the sports industry.”

During Gibb’s four years at Linfield, he has learned valuable skills that go beyond textbooks and lectures.

“Learning how to manage time, find and use resources, and create and maintain relationships. We students at Linfield are very fortunate to have the resources we do in our professors and the ability to create relationships with them. Through my time here, I’ve been able to learn lots of the in and outs of business while touching on so many other topics that are useful for my life.”

For the present, Reece Gibb is excited to continue playing basketball with his teammates this season and hopes to continue inspiring his teammates to accomplish their team goals their season goals.

WOMEN’S COACH CASEY BUNN-WILSON

Casey Bunn-Wilson is in her eighth season as women’s basketball coach at Linfield. In her first year with the Wildcats, she helped guide the women to the program’s first winning record in five seasons (13-12) and a share of sixth place in the Northwest Conference, one of the premier women’s basketball leagues in NCAA Division III. In 2018-19, the Wildcats reached the NWC Tournament despite a competing with an injury depleted roster.

Bunn-Wilson spent three seasons as girls basketball coach at Tualatin High School, compiling a 39-32 win-loss record while leading the Timberwolves to three straight OSAA Class 6A state playoff appearances.

At Oregon State, Bunn-Wilson led the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring as a senior in 2007, averaging 20.0 points per game. She graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Promotion and Education.

A star athlete at Stayton High School, Bunn-Wilson earned varsity letters in basketball, volleyball, softball and track. On the basketball court, she was a four-time all-state, all-region and all-conference honoree. The Capital Conference Player of the Year for three straight seasons, Bunn-Wilson led Stayton to the league championship her freshman and junior seasons. She set SHS career records for points (1,831), rebounds (783), assists (342) and steals (306) and went on to represent Stayton in the Oregon Class 3A All-Star game following graduation.

Bunn-Wilson played professionally in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Australia. While competing overseas, she earned allleague honors on the Portuguese All-Star team.

At Linfield, Bunn-Wilson also co-directs the athletic department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

WOMEN’S GAME DAY

PREVIEW

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

The Wildcats have emphasized defense this season, ranking fourth in the NWC with 58.8 points allowed per game. Rowan Cusack was named the NWC Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 12 after scoring a career-high 20 points with four three-pointers in Linfield’s 64-55 win over Warner Pacific. She’s the first Linfield honoree since Kory Oleson in 2019-20. Gillyan Landis leads the team with 10.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, which rank fifth in the NWC.

WILLAMETTE AT A GLANCE

The Bearcats are scoring 59.8 points per game on a 37.6 team field goal percentage. Carolyn Ho leads the team offensively with 9.4 points per game on 40 percent shooting from both the field and three-point range. Megan River is right behind Ho with 9.3 points per game while Sami Riggs has added nine points per game. River leads the team in assists, averaging 3.8 per game. Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil’s 7.4 rebounds per game rank fifth in the NWC.

THE SERIES

Linfield holds a narrow 40-38 advantage in the all-time series with Willamette. The Wildcats’ longest win streak against their in-state foes was 13 straight games between the 2003 and 2009 seasons. The Wildcats are 25-13 against the Bearcats at home. Willamette has won three straight meetings. The Bearcats won 70-50 in Salem and 71-54 in McMinnville to sweep the season series in 2021-22.

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MEET THE LINFIELD WOMEN

official publication of the linfield wildcats • golinfieldwildcats.com GAME

Back row (l to r): Jordan Roberts, Alexis Heald, Elyse Waldal, Logan Roberts, Gillyan Landis, Jordan Worthington, Peyton Bergevin, Miki Vermeulen, Lauren Quinn. Front row: Kaylee Schow, Anna Dazey, Ella Koebelin, Riley Cusack, Head Coach Casey Bunn-Wilson, Rowan Cusack, Janessa Yniguez, Paige LaFountain, Eve Burke.

LINFIELD WOMEN

NO. NAME POS. HT. YR./EL. HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL 1 Logan Roberts G/F 5-9 Fr./Fr. Twin Falls, Idaho / Canyon Ridge 2 Jordan Roberts G 5-8 Fr./Fr. Twin Falls, Idaho / Canyon Ridge

Miki Vermeulen G/F 5-10 Fr./Fr. Renton, Wash. / Liberty 4 Eve Burke G 5-7 Fr./Fr. Port Angeles, Wash. / Port Angeles

Ella Koebelin G 5-4 Fr./Fr. Silverdale, Wash. / Klahowya Secondary

Rowan Cusack G 5-2 So./So. Auburn, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep 11 Paige LaFountain G 5-6 Sr./Sr. Tigard, Ore. / Tigard 12 Riley Cusack G 5-2 So./Fr. Auburn, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep 14 Laurel Quinn G 5-8 Fr./Fr. Vancouver, Wash. / King’s Way Christian 15 Anna Dazey G 5-6 So./Fr. Corvallis, Ore. / Corvallis 20 Alexis Heald F 5-9 Sr./Sr. Portland, Ore. / Lincoln 21 Jordan Worthington F 6-0 Sr./Sr. Woodinville, Wash. / Woodinville 22 Kaylee Schow G 5-7 Sr./Jr. Tenino, Wash. / South Puget Sound C.C. 23 Peyton Bergevin F 5-11 Jr./Jr. Walla Walla, Wash. / Walla Walla 24 Elyse Waldal F 5-10 So./So. Snohomish, Wash. / Glacier Peak 30 Janessa Yniguez G 5-3 Sr./Sr. Santa Cruz, Calif. / St. Francis Salesian Prep 32 Gillyan Landis C 6-2 So./So. Yakima, Wash. / West Valley

HEAD COACH: Casey Bunn-Wilson (eighth year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Jeremy Vandenboer, Maggie Smith

NO. NAME POS. YR. HT. HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

1 Lecia Sincere G So. 5-6 Bremerton, Wash. / Central Kitsap 2 Sami Riggs G Sr. 5-7 La Verne, Calif. / Bonita 3 Alicia Goetz G Sr. 5-3 Poulsbo, Wash. / North Kitsap 4 Megan River G Jr. 5-7 Tumwater, Wash. / A.G. West Black Hills 5 Jasmine Shigeno G Jr. 5-5 Brush Prairie, Wash. / Hockinson 10 Peyton Gardner G Fy. 5-6 Bend, Oregon / Bend 11 Kaitlin Imai G Fy. 5-8 Santa Cruz, Calif. / Scotts Valley 12 Carolyn Ho G Jr. 5-9 Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa 14 Claire Bonnet G Sr. 5-7 Boise, Idaho / Boise 22 Danielle Morgan F Sr. 5-9 Lompoc, Calif. / Allan Hancock 24 Maggie Sawyer G Fy. 5-8 Boise, Idaho / Borah 30 Emma Floyd F Fy. 5-10 Camano Island, Wash. / Stanwood 33 Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil F Sr. 5-10 Boise, Idaho / Timberline 34 Ashley Collins P Jr. 6-0 Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills 42 Ava Kitchin P Jr. 6-1 Redmond, Ore. / Redmond

HEAD COACH: Peg Swadener (10th year)

ASSISTANT COACH: Sarah Hedgepeth, Grace Barry, Ashley Corral

The Linfield Sports Network will again bring fans live action of all home Linfield basketball games during 2022-23. Fans can enjoy live video webcasts with play-by-play commentary on their computer, tablet, mobile device or smart TV.

Live coverage begins 15 minutes prior to the start of each game. Broadcasts include a complete postgame wrap-up with analysis and statistical breakdown. Linfield will also provide live audio-only webcasts of all of the Wildcats’ Northwest Conference road contests.

McMinnville native Joe Stuart begins his fourth season as the play-by-play voice of the basketball Wildcats. The 2020 Linfield graduate is the Athletics Broadcast Operations Coordinator, managing all aspects of Linfield’s webcasting outreach and handling lead play-by-play duties on Linfield football, baseball

and softball webcasts in addition to basketball. Stuart also assists with other external sports communications and social media needs.

Linfield junior Isaac Milner will contribute occational play-by-play and color analysis on Linfield basketball broadcasts this winter. Milner, who also serves as lead play-by-play voice for Linfield soccer, began his broadcasting career with the LSN last year covering soccer, providing color commentary on basketball webcasts, handling occasional play-by-play duties for volleyball, basketball and softball, as well as crucial production support on football, softball, tennis and swimming webcasts.

All LSN broadcasts, both live and on demand, can be accessed at golinfieldwildcats.com/watch or in the Linfield Athletics app on mobile, tablet or smart TVs.

MEN’S COACH SHANAN ROSENBERG

Shanan Rosenberg is in his 10th year as Linfield men’s basketball coach. Since taking over leadership of the program, Rosenberg has guided Linfield through a “worst-to-first” transformation, capping it in 2019-20 with a share of program’s first Northwest Conference title since 2001. Linfield followed with a second co-championship in 2021-22. Under Rosenberg’s direction, the Wildcats have reached the NWC Tournament in four consecutive seasons, ending a seven-year playoff drought.

In nine seasons as head coach, hIs career record at Linfield stands at 116-99 overall and 74-64 in NWC play.

Rosenberg has twice been named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year. His first league honor came in 2017 after guiding the program to its first winning season since 2008 and first conference playoff berth in five seasons. The most recent NWC accolade came in 2020. That season, the Wildcats went 20-6 and were

crowned conference co-champion during a run that included victories over nationally ranked Whitman and Whitworth on consecutive nights. Over a six-season span after taking over the program, the Wildcats elevated their conference record from 2-14 to 14-2.

Rosenberg was previously head men’s basketball coach for 11 years at Foothill College, a two-year college near Palo Alto in the south San Francisco Bay region. At Foothill, he compiled a 186-131 win-loss record. His 2012-13 team went 22-5, achieving the best regular-season finish in program history.

A native of central California, Rosenberg starred in basketball at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, leading the Lancers to a Central Coast Section championship in 1988. As a student-athlete and three-year letterman at UC-Davis, he earned all-North Coast Athletic Conference honors while leading the Aggies in rebounding his final two seasons.

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MEN’S GAME DAY

PREVIEW

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

Going into the holidays, the Wildcats were putting up 74.4 points per game and ranked No. 3 in the NWC in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 68.5 points per game. Trey Bryant ranks sixth in the NWC with 14.4 points per game and leads the team with 5.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Carson Bonine is second to Bryant with 10.9 points per game while Jackson Dupree is also averaging in double figures at 10.3. Reece Gibb is shooting 47.1 percent from three-point range, connecting on 16 of his 34 attempts from beyond the arc.

WILLAMETTE AT A GLANCE

Willamette ranked fourth in the NWC in scoring going into the winter break, dropping 83.4 points per game. The Bearcats, however, allowed 94.4 points per game on the other end of the court. Jack Boydell’s 19.1 points per game rank third in the NWC. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from threepoint range and 92.3 percent from the free throw line. Ryder Hsiung and Jonathan Watts are both averaging 12.7 points per game. Watts leads the Bearcats with 6.8 rebounds per game, good for third in the league.

THE SERIES

Linfield is 54-57 in the all-time series with Willamette. The Wildcats are 27-25 at home against their in-state foes. The Wildcats are riding their longest win streak of the series. They’ve won 13 straight meetings with the Bearcats dating back to the 2015-16 season. The Wildcats won 112-69 in Salem and 99-85 in McMinnville to sweep last year’s season series.

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NO. NAME

LINFIELD MEN

POS. HT. WT. YR./EL. HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

0 Jake Downing G 6-4 175 So./So. Seattle, Wash / Roosevelt

1 Chase Bennett G 5-10 165 Fr./Fr. Moraga, Calif. / Campolindo

2 Jack Greenwood G 5-11 160 Jr./So. San Rafael, Calif. / Marin Catholic

3 Nick Tripaldi G 6-0 155 Jr./So. Menlo Park, Calif. / Menlo Atherton

4

TreyVaughn Bierlink G 6-5 160 Fr./Fr. Quincy, Wash. / Quincy

5 Mikey Hinkle G 6-2 180 Sr./Jr. Camarillo, Calif. / St. Bonaventure 10 Carson Bonine G 6-2 180 Sr./Jr. Camas, Wash. / Camas 11 Trey Bryant G 6-0 170 So./So. Springfield, Ore. / Springfield 12 Jackson Dupree G 6-3 180 Jr./So. San Jose, Calif. / Bellarmine Prep 13

14

Braedyn Benhard F 6-7 215 Fr./Fr. Santa Ana, Calif. / Foothill

JT Estes G 5-9 170 Jr./So. Walnut Creek, Calif. / Las Lomas

15 Josh Puccinelli G 6-2 185 So./So. San Francisco, Calif. / Stuart Hall

21 Jacob Hjort G 6-2 190 Jr./Jr. Vancouver, Wash. / Whitworth University

22 Milap Owens G 5-11 170 So./So. Prescott, Ariz. / Prescott

23 Reece Gibb F 6-5 210 Sr./Jr. Longview, Wash. / Mark Morris

24 Cayden Lowenbach F 6-6 205 So./So. Prineville, Ore. / Crook County

25 Philip Rosenfeld F 6-6 190 Fr./Fr. Portland, Ore. / Beaverton

31 Jack Stallard G 5-11 185 Jr./So. Danville, Calif. / Monte Vista

32 Alex Jaczko F 6-5 205 Sr./Jr. Newberg, Ore. / Newberg

35 Danilo Petrovic F 6-5 190 Fr./Fr. Seattle, Wash. / Roosevelt

40 Grant Lyon G 6-2 180 Fr./Fr. San Francisco, Calif. / University

42 Anthony Flint G 6-5 175 Fr./Fr. Durango, Colo. / Durango

44 Logan Morrill F 6-9 230 Fr./Fr. Astoria, Ore. / Knappa

50 Donovan Johnson G 6-0 160 Fr./Fr. Antelope, Calif. / Antelope

HEAD COACH: Shanan Rosenberg (10th year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Isiah Quintero, Mark Swenson, R. Loren Gehrke

WILLAMETTE MEN

NO. NAME POS. YR. HT. WT. HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

0 Kahiau Bruhn W Fr. 6-3 195 Waimanalo, Hawaii / Kamehameha - Kapalama

1 Kenny Wright Jr. G Jr. 5-11 170 Dallas, Texas / R.L. Turner

2 Jack Boydell F Sr. 6-4 185 Sonoma, Calif. / Sonoma Valley

3 Mitch Lind G Fr. 6-2 172 Midway, Utah / Wasatch

4 Daniel Plumer G Sr. 6-0 198 North Las Vegas, Nev. / Democracy Prep

5 Paul McSlarrow W Jr. 6-4 190 Sandy, Utah / The Waterford School

10 Meelad Doroodchi F Jr. 6-3 200 Mooresville, N.C. / Pine Lake Prep

11 Josiah Frank G So. 6-1 160 Turlock, Calif. / John H. Pitman

12 Joshua Perez W Sr. 6-1 155 Los Angeles, Calif. / John Marshall

13 Terry Sherman F So. 6-3 215 Lake Charles, La. / St. Louis Catholic

14 O’Neil Drury G Fr. 6-2 185 Ojai, Calif. / Rio Mesa

15 Jake Grossman W Fr. 6-3 170 Henderson, Nev. / Coronado

20 Ryder Hsiung G So. 6-3 185 Honolulu, Hawaii / Punahou School

21 Dylan Green F So. 6-3 195 Lakewood, Colo. / Green Mountain

22 Levi Basurto W Fr. 6-5 195 Lahaina, Hawaii / Maui Preparatory

23 Jonathan Watts W Sr. 6-2 175 San Diego, Calif. / Rancho Bernardo

24 Mason Hoffman F Jr. 6-6 222 Sammamish, Wash. / Seattle Prep

30 Gavin Rippere F Jr. 6-5 210 Vancouver, Wash. / Salinas

32 Jordan Pearce F Jr. 6-7 195 Meridian, Idaho / Meridian

HEAD COACH: Kip Ioane (14th year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Kevin MacRae, Chris Horton, Cameron McCormick

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