12/5 - GEORGE FOX 73, NW CHRISTIAN 53: Balanced Scoring Lifts Bruins by Crusaders in Tourney Opener
PORTLAND, Ore. - With all five starters scoring in double figures and their best defensive effort in almost two years, the George Fox University Bruins cruised past the Northwest Christian College Crusaders 73-53 in the opening game of the Concordia University-Portland Men's Basketball Tournament Friday evening here at Concordia's Cavalier Dome.
Led by Scott Szalay's 10 first-half points on 4-5 shooting and a 23-14 rebound edge, the Bruins jumped out to a 38-27 halftime lead and never looked back. Aaron Schmick scored 10 of his game-high 15 points in the second half as the Bruins extended the margin and cleared the bench for the final few minutes.
After Schmick's 15, Szalay added 14 points, and Mark Gayman, Bryan Wadlow, and Ben Melvin scored 12 apiece. Melvin was 5-7 from the field and Szalay 6-9. The Bruins also did well at the free throw line, sinking 11-14 (78.6%). Szalay's game-high 7 rebounds paced the Bruins to a final 42-31 advantage on the boards. Schmick also had a game-high 6 assists.
Matt Simonson led the Crusaders with 13 points and Jesse Taylor came off the bench to score 12. Kyle Wortman was Northwest Christian's top rebounder with 6. The Crusaders were held to a 35.8% shooting (19-53) by the Bruin defense, which also forced 20 turnovers.
The Bruins improved to 2-1 overall while holding the Crusaders to the lowest output by an opponent since a 50-48 win over the State University of New York-Utica/Rome in the adidas D3 Desert Shootout in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 19, 2001. The win also snapped Northwest Christian's six-game winning streak as the Crusaders fell to 6-4.
George Fox will face host Concordia, a 78-53 winner over Multnomah Bible College, at 8:00 p.m., while Northwest Christian and Multnomah will play at 6:00 p.m. The games were pushed back half an hour to accommodate a Concordia women's game prior to the tournament finals.