Press Release
11/28 - GEORGE FOX 91, LINFIELD 85: Bruins Hold Off Wildcats to Take Early Conference Lead
NEWBERG, Ore. - Point guard Brent Satern scored 11 of his career-high 25 points in the final nine minutes and the George Fox University Bruins sank 12 free throws in the final two-and-a-minutes to hold off the Linfield College Wildcats 91-85 Tuesday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym, giving the Bruins an early lead in the Northwest Conference men's basketball race.
George Fox took the lead for good with 17:50 left in the first half on a pair of Chris Parker free throws following a technical foul on Linfield's Emil Kim, but the Wildcats stayed close as Evan Timperly and Payton Brooks scored nine points each in the half. The Bruins built up as much as a 12-point lead at 42-30 with 2:11 left in the period on a three-pointer by Brady Strutz, and held a 46-36 halftime lead behind 11 points from both Parker and Strutz.
The Bruins took a 14-point lead three times, the last at 63-49 with 12:47 to play on a layup by Satern, who had 17 points in the second half. Mark Metzler's three with 6:39 left gave the Bruins a 75-64 lead before the Wildcats ripped off seven unanswered points, Khaatim Smith's trey cutting the margin to 75-71 with 5:35 to go. Satern's driving layup and subsequent free throw put George Fox back up by nine at 80-71 with 2:36 to play, and the Bruins went 12-17 from the line the rest of the way to keep the Wildcats at bay.
Satern led all scorers with 25 points and also passed out eight assists, while Phil Heu-Weller added 20 points, Parker 18, and Strutz 12. Parker was 10-10 from the free throw line. Heu-Weller had a game-high nine rebounds, leading the Bruins to a 38-27 advantage on the boards. The Bruins shot 54.9% from the field (28-51).
Timperly led the Wildcats with 19 points, seven below his league-leading average coming in, Andy Baldwin added 15, Payton 12, and Sten Morgan 11. Morgan and Baldwin were the top rebounders for the Wildcats with four each, and Kim had four assists.
George Fox (4-1, NWC 1-0) travels to Tacoma, Wash., Saturday to take on the pre-season league favorite University of Puget Sound. Linfield (2-2, NWC 0-1) goes to Tacoma Friday, visiting Pacific Lutheran University. Both games tip off at 8 p.m., following women's conference games at 6 p.m.