1/3 - WHITMAN 85, GEORGE FOX 84: Bruins Fall Again by One Point in NWC Opener at Whitman
WALLA WALLA, Wash. - For the second game in a row, the George Fox University Bruins lost a one-point game in the final second, this one an 85-84 heartbreaker to the Whitman College Missionaries in their Northwest Conference men's basketball opener Friday night (Jan. 3) here at the Sherwood Center.
Whitman led throughout most of the first half, with their biggest margin at 42-32 with 6 seconds left in the half. The Bruins' Trevor Person hit a trey at the buzzer to make it 42-35 at the break. A 19-7 run by George Fox to start the second half gave the Bruins a 54-49 advantage with 14:44 left, and they stretched it to 71-63 with 7:53 left on a jumper by Person. The Missionaries battled back, with a 16-4 run over a five-minutes span giving them an 84-78 lead with only 38 seconds to play.
The Bruins then stunned the Missionaries as Aaron Schmick hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 25 and 11 seconds left, knotting it at 84-84. The Bruins' Mark Gayman fouled Whitman's Greg Ricker with less than a second left, however, and Ricker made the first free throw before missing the second, allowing time to expire before the Bruins could get the rebound and get a shot off.
Gayman notched his second double-double of the season with game highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins. Schmick tallied 14 points, Nate Tyler 13, and Bryan Wadlow 11. Brett Yeager had 6 assists and Person 5. The Bruins had another good game from the field, hitting 50.7% (34-67), but their struggles from the line (8-17 for 47.1%) and on the boards (Whitman out-rebounded the Bruins 47-30, including 20 offensive) proved costly.
Casey Nelson led a quintet of Missionaries in double figures with 15 points, followed by Greg Caldwell with 13, Scott Erickson with 11, and Ricker and Erik Kofler with 10 each. Jacob Pounds had 10 rebounds, while Ricker had 6 assists and Erickson 5.
George Fox is now 4-4 overall while Whitman is 4-6.
The Bruins visit pre-season conference favorite Whitworth College in Spokane Saturday, while Whitman will host Pacific University Saturday. Both games are at 8:00 p.m., following women's games at 6:00 p.m.