Press Release
12/8 - GEORGE FOX 65, NORTHWEST 52: Bruins Net Eagles with Second-Half Shooting Spree
NEWBERG, Ore. - Evan Atwater started and finished a 19-0 George Fox University run midway through the second half with a pair of three-point baskets en route to a game-high 22 points, leading the Bruins to a 65-52 win over the Northwest University Eagles in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
A jumper by Mark Metzler and a three by Atwater gave the Bruins an early lead before the Eagles took off on a 15-4 burst to go up 15-9 with 10:54 remaining in the period. The Bruins tied it 15-15 on a Dan Lingenfelder layup at the 7:57 mark, but Eddie Coulson, who had 13 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, hit a pair of baskets that ignited an 11-1 Eagle run, making it 26-16 Northwest with 4:27 left. The Bruins managed to cut the lead in half and trailed 33-28 at the break after Taylor Martin laid in a missed shot at the buzzer.
The Bruins opened the second half with a three by Atwater and a layup by Bryan O'Connell to tie it 33-33 a minute into the period, and the teams traded leads six times over the next five minutes. A three-pointer by Chase Van Cleave gave Northwest a 42-41 lead with 13:54 to play, but it was the last time the Eagles would hold an advantage.
Atwater started the Bruins off on their 19-point run with a long-distance basket at 13:36 and capped it with another at 3:54 as the home team stretched its lead to 60-42 over the next 10 minutes, getting point production from six different players. Van Cleave finally ended the outburst with a pair of free throws at 3:46, but the Eagles could get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
Atwater connected on 8-of-12 from the field, including 6-of-8 from three-point range, and scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half. Brent Satern added 11 points and handed out eight assists, passing two players to move into ninth place on the George Fox top 10 career assists list with 377. Mark Metzler led all rebounders with nine boards as the Bruins held a 38-33 edge in that department. The Bruins finished with a .500 shooting percentage (24-48) after torching the twine at a .591 clip (13-22) in the second half.
Greg George led the Eagles with 14 points, Coulson finished with 13 after getting only one shot the entire second half, and Van Cleave added 10. Luke Hammond and Van Cleave had six rebounds apiece, and Hammond passed out five assists. The Eagles went cold offensively in the second half, connecting on only 7-of-29 (.241) in the period to finish with a percentage for the game of .345 (20-58).
The game was played before a GFU Sports Hall of Fame crowd as the Bruins' 13th group, the Class of 2008, was inducted into the Hall in ceremonies at a dinner earlier in the day and was introduced to the audience at halftime. The newest members of the Hall of Fame are basketball and track athlete Nancy Rissmiller, track and field athletes John Smith (now the Bruins' track coach) and Adolphus Onua, the 1980 women's track and field team, former baseball coach Pat Bailey, and alumnus Tom Hewitt for meritorious service.
George Fox (3-2) is off for exams next week, but returns to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 19, hosting St. Martin's University at 7:00 p.m. Northwest (6-5) plays again on Tuesday, Dec. 18, visiting Oregon Institute of Technology for a Cascade Conference game at 7:30 p.m.