2/11 - WILLAMETTE 101, GEORGE FOX 77: Bearcats Burn Bruins by Burying Bunches of Threes
NEWBERG, Ore. - If the George Fox University Bruins come up short in their bid to win the Northwest Conference men's basketball championship, there is no doubt who the culprit will be - the Willamette University Bearcats.
For the second time in as many meetings this season, the Bruins couldn't handle Willamette's hot hand from three-point range as the Bearcats buried a "baker's dozen" of them, sending George Fox to a 101-77 defeat and out of a first-place tie with the University of Puget Sound Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
In their first meeting, the Bearcats hit 10-21 from behind the arc in handing the Bruins their only previous conference loss, 94-87 in overtime in Salem. This time, the Bearcats hit 7-9 in the first half to build a huge lead and wound up sinking 13-20 in the game.
The Bruins overcame an early 5-0 deficit behind a pair of threes from Aaron Schmick and one from Nathan Mansfield to take a 13-9 lead with 14:23 left, but the rest of the game belonged to the Bearcats. A 14-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes put the visitors firmly in control at 24-15 with 10 minutes left, and the Bearcats stretched it to as much as 21 before settling for a 52-33 lead at the break. The Bearcats shot .581 (18-31) in the half to only .313 (10-32) for the Bruins.
George Fox opened the second half with an 11-2 run, featuring threes by Philip Heu-Weller and Schmick, over a three-minute span to close within 10 at 54-44. The Bruins were still in the game, down 11 at 69-58 with 11 minutes left, when John Olinger hit back-to-back threes in the space of 32 seconds to raise the lead to 17, and the Bruins never mounted another threat. The Bearcats eventually led by as many as 26 three times, the last at 101-75 with 1:12 remaining on (naturally) a three-pointer by Drew Miller.
Schmick led the Bruins with 15 points, hitting four three-pointers, Ben Melvin scored 13, and Mark Gayman and Brent Satern had 11 apiece. Gayman grabbed 7 rebounds, and Satern and Mansfield had 3 assists each. George Fox improved its shooting to .528 (19-36) in the second half, but had no answer for Willamette's assault from downtown.
Olinger led all scorers with 28, canning 4-6 from three-point range, and C.J. Stuvland added 23, sinking 4-4 on threes. Todd Lewis and Miller added 12 each, and Harold Sublett Jr. scored 10. Lewis, with 8 rebounds, led Willamette to a 37-33 edge on the boards. Miller had 5 assists. The Bearcats hit .571 (16-28) in the second half and finished at .576 (34-59) for the game.
George Fox, with its 9th straight setback to the Bearcats, slipped to 14-6 overall and 9-2 in the conference. The Bruins also had their six-game winning streak snapped. Willamette improved to 8-12 overall and 5-6 in the league.
The Bruins will try to get back on track Saturday with a tough assignment, traveling to McMinnville to face Yamhill County rival Linfield College. The Bearcats visit Lewis & Clark College Saturday. Both games are at 8:00 p.m., following women's games at 6:00 p.m.