11/27 - CONCORDIA 87, GEORGE FOX 79: Cavs Hang On to Spoil Season Opener at Home for Bruins
NEWBERG, Ore. - Concordia University-Portland All-American Keith Childs posted a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, leading the visiting Cavaliers to an 87-79 win over the George Fox University Bruins in a non-conference men's basketball game Wednesday night (Nov. 27) here at the Wheeler Sports Center, spoiling a spectacular debut by the home team's Nate Tyler.
It was the season opener for the Bruins, who were the final Northwest Conference team to begin play. The Cavaliers improved to 3-2.
Tyler, a juco transfer from Chemeketa Community College, kept the Bruins in the game with 14 points in the first half and 11 in the second for 25 total, hitting 7-11 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and 9-10 from the free throw line. He also grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds and had 6 assists.
It was not enough to offset the job done by Concordia forward Childs and center Nate Ferrier, who added 20 points and 8 rebounds to the Cavaliers' inside assault against the shorter Bruins. Ferrier was 8-11 from the field and Steve Ford was 5-6 from the outside with 3 treys and 14 points, leading the Cavs to a .524 shooting percentage (33-63) for the game. Andre Johnson added 15 points, and Michael Lay had 6 assists.
Mark Gayman, who scored the Bruins' first 8 points of the game and 10 of their first 13, finished with 16 in all. Bryan Wadlow scored 11 points, and Kenny Macy came off the bench to score 10. Gayman also had 7 rebounds, while Trevor Person had 8 assists and 4 steals.
The game was tight through the first 10 minutes before Concordia went on an 11-3 run to take their largest lead of the first half, 31-20 with 8:36 to play. The Bruins chipped away, however, to get within a point at 38-37 before the Cavs slowed the comeback and took a 44-39 lead into the break.
The Bruins got within a pair at 50-48 on a driving layup by Tyler with 16:16 left, but Concordia then reeled off 12 unanswered points in the next two minutes to take control at 62-48. George Fox got no closer than five the rest of the way, and that was with 22 seconds left at 84-79 on a 3-pointer by Macy.
George Fox is off until Thursday, Dec. 5, when they will play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the first of three games for them in the University of Redlands (Calif.) Tournament. Tipoff for the CMS game is 4:00 p.m., with the rest of the team's games in the tournament to be determined. Concordia visits Division I Eastern Washington University Tuesday (Dec. 3) for a 7:05 p.m. contest.