Bruins rediscovering "that winning feeling",/h2>
by Justin Sweeney, Guest Reporter
As the doldrums of another cold and rainy winter begin to slowly expire and the brightness of spring rises, a revitalization is also taking place within the George Fox men's basketball program.
The Bruins have endured a rocky season after losing Brady Strutz to injury during the first week of practice and thereafter were forced to redefine their style of play. Following a respectable non-conference season, they entered January and the beginning of Northwest Conference play. Then they got smacked in the face with a number of excruciatingly close losses and found themselves three weeks later with an 0-6 conference record. Time to give up, right? Not so, Geronimo; the Bruins, with a perseverance equivalent to Screech on the prowl for a Valentine's date with Lisa Turtle, continued to fight, picking up their first conference victory over Whitman and headed the next weekend to Tacoma to improve on their 1-7 record.
The weekend started off promisingly with a 3-point overtime loss to PLU on the Friday game in which starting forward, Taylor Martin, suffered a head injury thanks to a metal door ten minutes before tip-off. To add insult to injury, the Bruins lost on a game winning three point shots after erasing a 22-point deficit. Then everything changed.
The following night the Bruins went into the fortress of Memorial Fieldhouse to take on the Puget Sound Loggers, a team which held an 8-1 conference record and were ranked 7th in Division III. The Loggers were obligated to go ahead and win at home, but the Bruins came out and shocked them with a scoring blitz off the tip-off. 39 � minutes later, the Bruins were up by three points.
The Loggers came down and scored, stole the inbounds pass and went to the free throw line with three seconds and a chance to win. Gloriously they choked, missing both shots and the Bruins celebrated their one-point historic upset. They've been on a roll ever since with a one point victory against Willamette, punctuated with an Isaiah Thomas 1984 playoffs-esque finish by Brent Satern and then a victorious homecoming night against Linfield.
Now the Bruins are the ones enjoying upsets and comebacks; Miller is back, the seats are packed, but most importantly, the team has figured out ways to win. It's been stated that good things come to those who wait, and for George Fox in mid-February, it's been a cornucopia full of triumph.