Press Release
2/17 - GEORGE FOX 93, PACIFIC LUTHERAN 92: Both Teams Hot as Bruins Edge Lutes for 4th Straight Win
TACOMA, Wash. - The wind wasn't the only thing that knocked out power Friday in the Puget Sound area. The George Fox University Bruins and the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes both shot the lights out in their Northwest Conference men's basketball game Friday night here at Tacoma Community College, with the visiting Bruins prevailing in the end 93-92.
An early-morning windstorm swept through the Puget Sound area Friday, downing trees and power lines and cutting off power to a large swath of Tacoma that included the PLU campus. As a result, the George Fox-PLU games were finally relocated to the TCC campus.
George Fox found the new digs to its liking, scorching the nets in the first half for 63.0% (17-27) to 52.0% (13-25) for Pacific Lutheran. That enabled the Bruins to take a 13-point advantage into the break, 55-42. The Lutes held the hot hand in the second half, making 17-29 for 58.6% while the Bruins managed "only" 46.4% (13-28), thus enabling the Lutes to make it a tight game down to the end.
Final totals showed the Lutes making 55.6% (30-54) while the Bruins were close at 54.5% (30-55). George Fox held the edge on three-pointers, however, making 60.0% (12-20) to 45.5% (10-22) for PLU, and also on free throws, sinking 87.5% (21-24) to 84.6% (22-27) for the Lutes. The rebounds were dead even at 27 apiece, as were the turnovers with 12 by each.
Aaron Schmick led a quintet of Bruins in double figures with 22 points, followed by Scott Szalay with 17, Phil Heu-Weller with 16, Brent Satern 14, and Ben Melvin 11. Szalay had a game-high 9 rebounds, while Satern, Szalay, and Melvin had 4 assists apiece. The Lutes' Josh Vanlandingham led all scorers with 27 points, while Drew Cardwell added 16 and Scott Lowery 11. Lowery also had a team-high 5 rebounds, and Vanlandingham and Andrew Mehalechko had 4 assists each.
With its 4th straight win, George Fox is now 16-8 overall and 9-6 in the conference, while Pacific Lutheran slips to 5-19 overall and 4-11 in the league.
Both teams end the regular season Saturday, the Bruins hosting Willamette University and the Lutes entertaining Lewis & Clark College. Tip-off is 8 p.m. following women's NWC games at 6 p.m. The Bruins will be out to snap a 10-game losing streak to the Bearcats and deny them a share of the NWC title; Willamette lost at Puget Sound Friday in a first-place showdown and fell one game back. The contest will also mark the 1,000th men's game witnessed and worked by long-time George Fox statistician Mike "Biggs' Wirta.