Press Release
2/10 - GEORGE FOX 71, LEWIS & CLARK 62: Szalay's 9th Double-Double Leads Bruins Past Pioneers
NEWBERG, Ore. - Scott Szalay posted his 9th double-double of the season with a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, leading the George Fox University Bruins to a 71-62 victory over the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
The first half was tight most of the way as both teams had trouble finding the basket in the early going, Lewis & Clark hitting only 33.3% (9-27) in the first 20 minutes and George Fox not much better at 34.5% (10-29). The Pioneers' largest lead was 6-1 after back-to-back three-pointers by Ryan Wells and David Berggren, but the Bruins then went on a 16-4 run, capped by a Szalay rebound basket, for a 17-10 lead with 11:32 left. Threes by Berggren and Thomas Tillery around a Tillery free throw tied it 17-17 with 9:31 left, and the game stayed close until the Pios took a 27-26 lead into the locker room on Wells' three with 37 second to go.
George Fox regained the lead for good with 18:35 left in the second half on a three from Phil Heu-Weller, but Lewis & Clark hung tough behind its usual plethora of three-pointers (the Pios are among the national leaders with over 11 threes per game). The Bruins were finally able to put a little distance between themselves and their pursuers with some long-distance gunning of their own when Brady Strutz, Heu-Weller, and Strutz again hit unanswered threes, jumping the lead from a slim 48-45 edge to a more comfortable 12-point 57-45 margin with 7:07 remaining. The Pios got no closer than 7 the rest of the way as the Bruins scorched the nets in the second half for 61.5% (16-26).
In addition to Szalay's 16th career double-double, Chris Parker just missed one of his own for the Bruins with 8 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Heu-Weller tallied 16 points and Strutz had 12. Heu-Weller and Nate Mansfield had 4 assists apiece. The Bruins owned a 38-31 advantage on the boards.
Wells topped the Pios with 16 points and Tillery added 13, while Berggren had a team-high 9 rebounds. Tillery passed out a game-high 7 assists. The Pioneers, who shoot three-pointers 53% of the time, maintained that rate by putting up 34 from beyond the arc out of their 59 total shots, and hit just over a third of them (12).
With the win, the Bruins improved to 15-8 overall and secured a tighter grip on 4th place in the conference at 8-6. Lewis & Clark fell to 9-12 overall and 5-8 in league play.
The Bruins are off until next Friday when they visit Pacific Lutheran University at 8 p.m. The Pioneers are at Pacific University Saturday, also at 8 p.m. Both are preceded by NWC women's contests at 6 p.m.