Men's Basketball Release
1/20 - GEORGE FOX 78, PACIFIC LUTHERAN 61: Bruins Regain Shooting Touch in Conference Win over Lutes
NEWBERG, Ore. - After dropping two Northwest Conference road games last week due to low shooting percentages, the George Fox University Bruins regained their magic touch at home, sinking 62.8% in handing the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes a 78-61 setback in men's basketball Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
Down 10-8 after the Lutes' Josh Dressler canned a three-pointer with 15:01 left in the first half, the Bruins suddenly caught fire. Sparked by tying and go-ahead baskets by Chris Parker and a four-point play (a trey and a free throw) by Phil Heu-Weller, the Bruins unleashed a string of 12 unanswered points for a 20-10 lead with 11:03 to go and never trailed again. Parker had 13 in the period as the Bruins shot 68.2% (15-22) and took a 40-35 halftime lead, but Dressler kept the Lutes in the game with 14 of his own, including three threes.
The Bruins didn't cool off much in the second half, hitting 57.1% (12-21) to finish with a night of 27-43 from the field, while the Lutes could manage only 33.3% (7-21) in the final period. Scott Szalay's jumper and a three-pointer by Aaron Schmick boosted the Bruins to a 45-35 lead to start the final 20 minutes, and the Lutes came no closer than eight the rest of the way. The largest lead for the Bruins was 17 points twice, including the final score.
Schmick led all scorers with 24 points, becoming the 14th player in Bruin history to go over 1,300 career points with 1,303. Parker finished with 17 and Szalay added 14, along with a team-high 5 rebounds. Brent Satern, who passed out 15 assists Saturday against Walla Walla College to tie the best mark in the country this year, had another double-digit assists game with 10.
Dressler led the Lutes with 20 points, while Drew Cardwell added 17 and a game-high 8 rebounds. Landon Heidenreich handed out 3 assists.
George Fox, now 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the conference, recorded the 999th win in team history; the Bruins are 999-1,019-1 in their 102nd season of competition. Pacific Lutheran fell to 3-13 overall and 2-6 in the league.
Both teams play on the road Saturday, the Bruins going to Salem to play Willamette University while the Lutes visit Lewis & Clark College in Portland. Tipoff for each game is at 8 p.m., following women's NWC games at 6 p.m.