2/5 - GEORGE FOX 61, WHITWORTH 53: Bruins Finally Pull Away from Pirates before Record Crowd
NEWBERG, Ore. - Before a Homecoming crowd of some 2,400, the largest in Bruin history, the George Fox University Bruins prevailed in a defensive battle 61-53 over the Whitworth College Pirates in Northwest Conference men's basketball Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
Both teams struggled to mount a consistent offense until late in the first half. The Pirates, who led the entire period, held an 18-12 lead after 17 minutes of play, but each team scored seven points in the final three minutes. Whitworth hit only .385 (10-26) in the half, but the Bruins struggled even more, making only .278 (5-18). Jon Young had 9 points, all on threes, to lead the Pirates, while Philip Heu-Weller's 11 kept the Bruins in the game.
The Bruins slowly fought back in the second half and took their first lead of the game at 36-35 on a Mark Gayman tip-in with 9:56 to play. After two ties and two lead changes, Ben Melvin's three-point play at 5:12 put the Bruins up 44-42, and Brady Strutz's rebound basket and subsequent free throw with 4:53 left made it 47-42. Strutz later made two more baskets off offensive rebounds, Gayman made a three-point play out of a similar putback, and Gayman dunked an alley-oop from Aaron Schmick to give the Bruins a 13-point lead at 61-48 with 23 seconds left.
Heu-Weller equaled his career high with a game-leading 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while Gayman posted his second straight double-double, 7th of the season, and 22nd of his career with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Schmick passed out 5 assists. The Bruins more than doubled their shooting percentage in the second half, hitting .577 (15-26) from the floor.
Lance Pecht led the Pirates with 21 points, and George Tucker also had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Bryan Williams handed out 4 assists.
With its sixth straight win, George Fox improved to 14-5 overall and 9-1 in the conference, maintaining a share of first in the league with the University of Puget Sound, which defeated Willamette University 91-65. The Bruins' league record is the best ever for a George Fox team after 10 games of conference play. Whitworth fell to 8-10 overall and 4-6 in the league.
The Bruins host Willamette and the Pirates welcome Puget Sound next Friday, both games at 8:00 p.m. following women's games at 6:00 p.m.