Press Release
2/7 - GEORGE FOX 85, LINFIELD 67: Bruins Sizzle in Second Half to Shoot Down Wildcats
NEWBERG, Ore. - Red-hot shooting from both the field and the foul line in the second half enabled the George Fox University Bruins to break open a close game and pull away from the Linfield College Wildcats for an 85-67 Northwest Conference men's basketball victory Tuesday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
The Wildcats opened the game with buckets by Ryan Monagle, Steve Taylor and Brian Murphy for a quick 6-0 lead before the Bruins finally got on the board with a layup by Brent Satern two-and-a-half minutes into the game. That sparked a 9-0 Bruin run that gave the home team the lead for good. After Linfieled's Joe Wells broke the string with a layup, the Bruins reeled off 10 more unanswered points, taking an 11-point lead at 19-8 with 12:09 to go on a concluding layup by Scott Szalay. The Wildcats narrowed the gap to six points three times, the last on a layin by Michael Van Loon with 11 seconds left, but Satern hit a jumper, his 10th and 11th points of the period, as the horn sounded, giving George Fox a 33-25 halftime lead.
Matt McGowan's basket with 18:22 left in the game cut the George Fox lead to six at 37-31, and then the Bruins got hot. Over the next three-and-a-minutes, they made 7 of 8 field goals attempts, expanding their lead to 18 at 51-33 with 15 minutes to go, and the Wildcats got no closer than nine twice. George Fox connected on 60.7% (17-28) from the field in the final half and 81.8% (18-22) from the line to stay comfortably ahead.
Szalay led all scorers and rebounders with 24 points, hitting 10-14 from the field, and 10 rebounds, his 8th double-double of the season and 14th of his career. He also collected 4 steals and 4 blocked shots, giving him 101 blocks for his career, only the 5th Bruin ever to reach 100 blocks. Aaron Schmick, the Bruins' leading scorer, did not scratch in the first half, but finished with 18 points, including 10-10 from the line, the 5th time in his career he has been perfect with 10 or more made free throws. Satern ended with 15 points, going 6-6 from the stripe, with a game-high 5 assists, and Chris Parker added 12 points.
Monagle paced the Wildcats with 19 points and Khaatim Smith chipped in with 13, but the visitors struggled offensively, hitting only 32.0% (24-75) for the game and a meager 13.3% (4-30) from three-point range. Monagle also had 8 rebounds as the Wildcats held a slim 42-41 edge on the boards, while Smith handed out 3 assists.
George Fox improved to 14-8 overall, securing back-to-back winning records for the first time since the '98 and '99 seasons, and 7-6 in the conference. Linfield dropped to 6-16 overall and 3-10 in league play. The Bruins host Lewis & Clark College Friday and the Wildcats host Willamette University Saturday, both games at 8 p.m. following women's NWC games at 6 p.m.