McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- (From Linfield SID Office) A new-look Linfield team showed it is no longer the whipping boy of the Northwest Conference, stunning defending champion Whitworth 77-70 Friday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

Symes Led the Pirates with 19 points

Freshman center K.C. Wiser scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, spurring the Wildcats (6-4, 1-0 NWC) to the improbable home-court victory.

Linfield, which finished dead last in the NWC standings the past two seasons, led for all but one minute against the defending champs. Time and again, the ‘Cats resisted Whitworth charges, including weathering a late-game rally by the Pirates (6-3, 0-1 NWC) that saw them pull even with under seven minutes to play.

As Wiser scored 15 first-half points, the Wildcats raced to a 32-27 lead at the break, leading by as many as 12 points. The talented 6-foot-8 frosh made 5 of 8 shots in the period - and 8 of 11 in the game - as the Wildcats outshot the Pirates .407 to .321 during the opening 20 minutes.

Whitworth made its move with 6 ½ minutes left, pulling even at 58 following Tim Sellereit’s three-point play. But the Wildcats wouldn’t flinch, answering with two free throws by Brian Murphy and a bucket in the paint from Wiser to extend their lead back to four.

Clinging to a three-point lead with 1:30 to play, Joel Paul scooped up a loose ball in the key and layed it in the basket, giving the Wildcats a 73-68 edge. Paul made 8 of 13 shots from the floor to finish with 17 points.

Sellereit inched the Pirates closer with an open jumper, but the Whitworth junior missed completing a three-point play that could have snipped the margin to two. Instead, Erik Olson made it a two-possession game with two successful free throws at the other end.

Two desperation shots as time ticked down were no good and the Wildcats rejoiced at center court after snapping a four-game losing slide to the Pirates. Including a 75-72 win over Whitworth in 2005, Linfield had dropped 10 of its last 11 to the Pirates.

Wildcats guard Steve Taylor made 6 of 9 shots from the perimeter, including a trio of three-pointers, to finish with 18 points.

Ryan Symes, a first-team all-NWC performer as a junior, tallied a team-high 19 points and six rebounds for the Pirates. Ross Nakamura added 12 points and four steals. Colin Willemsen corralled a game-best 12 rebounds to go with 10 points.

Whitworth will try to get its first NWC win on Saturday night at Willamette University.