Rising to the rescue

Evergreen, Saint Martin's stars know the drill when the game is on the line

By Gail Wood | The Olympian • Published February 12, 2009

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There's less than a minute left to play, and the outcome is undecided.

It's crunch time.

And this is their time. This is the moment Jake Linton and Nate Menefee flourish.

This is the role of a scorer.

Few do it better than these two guards, who have similar games. Both are prolific scorers. Both lead their conference in scoring.

Linton, a senior at Saint Martin's University, is averaging 23.3 points per game, sixth-best in the NCAA Division II and tops in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Menefee, a junior at The Evergreen State College, is averaging 23.9 points, tops in the NAIA Division II and the Cascade Conference.

They are scorers who rise to the challenge when a game is on the line.

"There's not another player in the country I'd rather have in the last four minutes of the game than Jake," Saints coach Keith Cooper said. "We've won so many close games, and he's a big, big reason why. We're good down the stretch, and he's the main reason."

With the ball in Linton's hands in the closing minute, Saint Martin's is 7-0 in games decided by five points or less this season, helping the Saints to a 17-6 record. The Saints are 6-2 in overtime games the past two seasons.

Like Linton, Menefee doesn't turn the ball over in the closing minutes, he makes big shots and finds the open teammate when he's double teamed.

Evergreen's Jeff Drinkwine coached both players. He coached Linton when he was Cooper's assistant. Drinkwine recruited Menefee when he was named head coach at Evergreen.

"I think they're both very competitive, which is a strength," Drinkwine said. "Both have done a great job of being leaders. They're both scorers, obviously. But they both pick their teams up. Both teams drive off their emotion and how hard they both work."

Linton and Menefee are shooters, capable of swishing 3-pointers. Menefee is shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point range, making 61-of-167 attempts. Linton is shooting 37.8 percent, sinking 68-of-180 attempts.

From the field, Menefee is shooting 48 percent. Linton is at 38 percent. From the foul line, Linton is shooting 91 percent, second in the nation for NCAA Division II. He's made 181-of-199, his string of 45 straight free throws snapped in the Saints' most recent game against Montana State Billings. Menefee is shooting 73 percent from the free throw line, making 85-of-115 attempts.

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