IRVINE – Northwood’s Jake Linsky racks up big points every night, but the 6-foot-7 junior center seems to take his game to another level against Beckman.
Linsky scored 34 points on Friday night to lead the Timberwolves to a 63-59 victory over Beckman in a Pacific Coast League opener at Beckman.
It was the second time this year that Linsky has scored 34 points against Beckman. He also scored 34 when Northwood defeated Beckman, 58-51, in the Irvine World News Gary Raya Classic on Dec. 17.
“It’s a big one, especially on the road,” said Linsky, who scored 19 in the second half. “They had a lot of momentum going into this, and I think we played well. Coach had a great game plan, he always does and we executed right.”
Michael Yee led Beckman with 20 points, including two 3-pointers. The Patriots (8-9, 0-1) tried to stay close via 3-point shooting, and they made eight from beyond the arc.
Northwood (10-7, 1-0) trailed 35-33 at halftime, but took a 45-43 lead going into the final quarter.
The Timberwolves pushed their lead to seven points early in the fourth quarter.
Beckman made a late charge, however, cutting the lead to 57-56 on a 3-pointer by Yee with 1:12 remaining.
But sophomore point guard Akshay Harishankar hit two free throws for Northwood with 1:01 left and Linsky sank four free throws down the stretch to seal the hard-fought victory.
“I would expect nothing less, each team knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well,” Northwood coach Tim O’Brien said. “It’s just going to come down to making some plays.
“We have Jake Linsky, but other guys do some nice things too.”
Cameron Miles added 10 points and Harishankar had nine.
Beckman made the Timberwolves work hard for the victory until the end.
“It was a great game to be a part of,” Beckman coach Brady Richards said. “I thought both teams played extremely hard.”
Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com
