Press Release
1/27 - GEORGE FOX 75, PUGET SOUND 63: Bruins Rally to Hand #13 Loggers Second Straight Loss
NEWBERG, Ore. - Down by 17 points with 13 minutes to play against the fourth-highest scoring team in the country, the George Fox University Bruins stunned the University of Puget Sound with a 34-5 run to end the game, taking a 75-63 victory over the 13th-ranked Loggers in Northwest Conference men's basketball Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
George Fox improved to 10-8 overall and 6-4 in the league, while Puget Sound slipped to 14-4 overall and 7-3 in the NWC. Coupled with a 119-108 loss at Willamette University Friday, it was the first time since the 2001-02 season that the four-time defending NWC champion Loggers had lost back-to-back league games.
The first half was all Loggers as the visitors forced 21 Bruin turnovers and led for the entire 20 minutes, taking as much as a 14-point lead of 29-15 on a Robert Krauel basket with 5:08 left. A 12-2 run, led by Joe Ahn's two baskets and an assist on a third, brought the Bruins within four at 31-27 with 2:47 to go, but the Loggers ended the half with an 11-2 outburst to go up 42-29 at the break. Ryan DeLong with 14 points and Krauel with 12 led the Loggers, while Brady Strutz had 10 in the half for the Bruins.
Puget Sound stayed comfortably in front while building up a 17-point lead of 58-41 in the second half on a three-pointer by Jeff Walker with 13:00 to go - and then the Loggers, averaging 103.9 points coming in, went stone-cold, making only two their final 19 shot attempts and ending the half with a .212 shooting mark (7-33). The Bruins turned up the defensive pressure as well, making nine steals and forcing 18 second-half Logger turnovers while cutting their own miscues down to eight.
Picking it up offensively, the Bruins shot 9-15 from the field over the final 13 minutes. A 10-0 run, featuring baskets by reserves Matt Noble and Ahn and back-to-back layups by Mark Metzler, cut the deficit to 58-51 before Krauel scored inside to make it 60-51. The Bruins then went on an 8-0 run to slice the Logger lead to a single digit at 60-59 with 7:06 remaining. A steal and layup by Metzler gave the Bruins their first lead at 62-61 with 4:08 to go, but after a Brent Satern free throw made it 63-61, Weston Wood tied the game for the last time 63-63 with a layup at 3:27, the last points the Loggers would score.
Satern broke the tie with a three-pointer at the three-minute mark, igniting a 12-0 Bruin run to end the game. Metzler made a layup after a steal and feed by Satern, and the Bruins iced the game with seven free throws in the final minute, five by Satern and a pair by Metzler.
Strutz paced the Bruins with his first career double-double, knocking down 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to go with five assists and five blocked shots. Metzler had a career-high 17 points, sinking 7-8 from the field, along with seven boards, six steals, and three blocks. Satern added 12 points and four steals, and Chris Parker chipped in with 10 points. The Bruins finished with a .500 shooting mark (24-48) and controlled the boards 44-41.
Krauel led the Loggers with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, and DeLong finished with 17 points. Antwan Williams had five assists and five steals. The final shooting percentage for the Loggers was .320 (24-75), and they were only 8-31 (.258) from three-point range.
George Fox plays its final non-conference game Monday at Northwest Christian College in Eugene at 7:30 p.m. Puget Sound returns home to host cross-town rival Pacific Lutheran University Tuesday at 8 p.m., following the women's NWC game at 6 p.m.