2/18 - PUGET SOUND 91, GEORGE FOX 84: Loggers Down Bruins to Open Up Two-Game Lead in NWC
TACOMA, Wash. - Opening up a two-game lead with three to play over the only team with a chance to catch them, the University of Puget Sound Loggers hung on for a 91-84 win over the George Fox University Bruins in the biggest game of the year in Northwest Conference men's basketball Friday night before an energetic crowd of 1,500 here at Memorial Fieldhouse.
George Fox slipped to 15-7 overall and 10-3 in the conference, while Puget Sound improved to 18-3 overall and 12-1 in the league. A win for the Bruins would have forged a tie for the top spot and given them the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Loggers, but Puget Sound will successfully defend its NWC championship unless they drop two of their final three games and the Bruins win all three of theirs.
Puget Sound never trailed in the game but could never completely shake the upstart Bruins, who had been picked to finish 6th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll. Both teams struggled offensively in the early going, the Loggers managing to open up a 16-4 lead nine minutes into the game before the Bruins got untracked. An 18-7 run, capped by an Aaron Schmick layup on a fast break, cut the Loggers' lead to 23-22 with 4:40 to go in the half. Schmick scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the half to keep the visitors close as Puget Sound stretched its lead to 40-32 at the half.
The Bruins cut the deficit to two at 45-43 on a Ben Melvin layup, and were down only three at 51-48 when the Loggers suddenly found their three-point shooting touch with 16 minutes left. Chase Curtiss drilled three from long-range and Weston Wood and Aubrey Shelton each hit one in a five-minute span, opening up a 66-55 lead with 11:48 remaining. The Bruins stayed around with Schmick hitting 18 second-half points, twice getting within five points in the final three minutes, but a basket by Jeremy Cross and two free throws by Zack McVey were the Loggers' responses to each, keeping the Bruins at bay.
Schmick finished with 28 points, Philip Heu-Weller scored 14, Melvin had 13, and Nate Mansfield chipped in with 11. Melvin led the Bruins with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. The Loggers kept the ball out of the hands of the Bruins' leading scorer, Mark Gayman, most of the night, limiting him to 7 shots and 6 points. The Bruins broke their record for best free throw percentage with a miss, hitting 20-21, 18 in a row at one point, for a .952 percentage.
McVey, pounding the ball inside all game long, scored a game-high 30, including 14-18 from the free throw line. Curtiss added 24, hitting 5 three-pointers, Chris O'Donnell scored 16, and Shelton had 12. McVey made it a double-double with 11 rebounds, leading the Loggers to a 42-30 edge on the boards. Curtiss and Josh Walker had 4 assists apiece. The Loggers were also hot from the line, sinking 29-35 for a .829 mark.
The Bruins continue their Tacoma trip Saturday at Pacific Lutheran University while the Loggers entertain Linfield College. Both games are at 8:00 p.m., following women's game at 6:00 p.m.