Press Release
1/6 - WHITWORTH 83, GEORGE FOX 53: 6th-Ranked Pirates Pound Bruins for Best Start Ever
NEWBERG, Ore. - Running their record to 13-0 for the best start in team history, the Whitworth College Pirates jumped out to an early lead and were never threatened in an 83-53 rout of the George Fox University Bruins in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
In topping the 12-0 start by the 2002-03 Whitworth team, the Pirates jumped out to a 7-1 lead, and reached a double-digit lead for good on a layup by Jon Young to make it 18-7 with 10:17 left in the first half. The Pirates hit a 20-point lead with 6:32 to go when Ryan Symes' jumper made it 29-9. The Pirates shot .481 (13-27) while holding the struggling Bruins to a .167 figure (5-30) in building up a 42-13 halftime lead behind Symes' 15 first-half points.
The Bruins battled the Pirates on virtually-even terms throughout the second half, being outscored only 41-40, but the damage had been done in the first half. Whitworth's largest margin was 36 points when Calvin Jurich made a rebound basket to for a 68-32 advantage with 6:41 remaining.
The nation's best-shooting team at .548 coming in, Whitworth managed a .481 mark this time, making 26-54 from the field, but they didn't need more accuracy as George Fox wound up at only .298 for the game on 17-57 shooting. The Pirates also owned the boards with 43 rebounds to 30 for the Bruins.
Chris Parker scored 13 points and Mark Metzler 12 to lead the Bruins. Brady Strutz had a team-high eight rebounds, Brent Satern handed out three assists, and Metzler made three steals.
Symes finished with 24 points for the Pirates to lead all scorers, and also had a game-high nine rebounds. James Jones added 17 points and Young had 10. Bryan Williams, the national leader in assists, had five this time around.
George Fox (6-6, NWC 2-2) hosts Willamette University and Whitworth (13-0, NWC 4-0) returns home to play 13th-ranked University of Puget Sound in a showdown for first place in the league Friday, both games at 8 p.m. following women's NWC contests at 6 p.m.