By Ryan Oppenheimer
EUGENE, Ore. — After tipping off the season with two losses in Klamath Falls at the Cascade/Crossroads Classic, the Bushnell men's basketball team returns home to the Morse Center where they will host the Division III Linfield Wildcats Friday night at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Despite the 0-2 start, there is still plenty of excitement surrounding the latest version of the Beacons under sixth-year head coach Eddie Alexander. This team pushes it up and down the court in a hurry and is made up of several former Oregon high school standout scorers. Returning 14 players, they have largely the same personnel as last season — which saw them finish 12-17 and eke out the No. 8 seed in the playoffs — but they hope to benefit from an added year of experience. Five of these returners are seniors, including the school's all-time leading scorer, guard Stevie Schlabach. He forms a one-two punch with center Spencer Hoffman, with the two combining for 31.4 points per game last season. Guards Trevon Richmond, Kaden Sand and Alexis Angeles provide additional veteran experience, with Sand recently joining the 1000-point club in the previous game against Bethel.
The Wildcats will be playing their first regular season game tonight, and they face Bushnell for the first time since December 6, 2017, when they won a tight 69-66 contest to take the all-time series lead at three games to two. They come off a year where they finished seventh place in the Northwest Conference and missed the playoffs, but they look to turn a new page with a new head coach in Levi Sieg. They will need to replace last year's leading scorer and assist man, Trey Bryant, with heightened production from their returners. Those include graduate forward Reece Gibb, who started 22 of 25 games last year, and senior Jackson Dupree, who will see an increased role after leaving a strong impression in 9 games played.
The Beacons have shown they can hang with NCAA opponents, as nearly every matchup between these two has come down to the wire. It could very well be another exciting finish. But with Bushnell's continuity from last season, as well as having two games under their belt already, I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull away late and secure their first win in front of home fans.