TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball team suffered its first setback of the Northwest Conference slate on Friday night, falling 93-60 to Linfield College inside Wilson Gymnasium.

The homestanding Wildcats (4-1, 1-0 NWC) never trailed, scoring eight of the opening 10 points to stake an early 8-2 advantage. A Leighton Kingma three pulled the Lutes (2-2, 1-1 NWC) within a possession with 13:49 left in the opening stanza but the hosts quickly countered, owning a nine-point 24-15 lead just over eight minutes before halftime. Linfield maintained a comfortable gap the rest of the half, enjoying a 36-26 lead after 20 minutes of play en route to the win.

Leighton Kingma led the Lutes with 11 points while also adding nine rebounds and three steals. Kelton Williams and Tyler Combs each added eight points while Jordan Thomas poured on seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds.

"They outplayed, out-classed, and out-coached us in every aspect of the game tonight," said Head Coach Chad Murray. "Just like when we win, we need to have a short memory and move on to the next challenge. No sense in dwelling on this. We will learn great lessons from the experience and use them to continue to grow in a positive way."

PLU owned a 42-38 rebounding advantage including a 16-6 edge on the offensive glass. PLU was undone by a tough shooting night, hitting just 29.9 percent (20-for-67) of shots from the field while the Wildcats canned 50 percent (31-for-62) of their attempts.

PLU is back on the court on Wednesday, hosting Portland Bible College inside Olson Gymnasium.