George Fox 71, Linfield 67: Bruins Overcome Wildcats for First NWC Win

Olson’s 19 points topped the Wildcats, while Wiser added 18 and Tesoro 15.

Salem-News.com Sports

NEWBERG, Ore. - Shaking off a 15-0 Linfield College run to open the second half that left them six points down after a strong first half, the George Fox University Bruins recovered in time to pick up their first Northwest Conference win of the season 71-67 over the visiting Wildcats in men’s basketball Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym.

A three-pointer by Erik Olson, who had 13 first-half points, got the Wildcats off and running to start the game, and they twice took an eight-point lead, the second at 14-6 with 12:41 to go in the period on a jumper by Olson. The Bruins fought back to tie it 26-26 with 5:24 left on rebound and layup by Steve Campbell, then closed the half with a 12-3 run, capped by a Joe Ahn layin at the buzzer, for a 38-29 lead at the break.

The Wildcats came out of the chute in the second half with guns blazing, canning five of their first six shots, turning their nine-point halftime deficit into a 44-38 lead three-and-a-half minutes into the period. Olson capped the rally by hitting back-to-back threes, but they would be his last points of the night. A long-distance three by Evan Atwater and a traditional three-point play by Jack Martin slowed the Wildcats and pulled the Bruins into a 44-44 tie with 15 minutes left, turning the game into a nailbiter the rest of the way.

Over the next eight minutes, there were two ties and seven lead changes, a three-pointer by Dan Lingenfelder finally giving George Fox the lead for good at 58-56 with 7:06 to play. Martin hit a layup and a three around a Linfield miss to boost the Bruins to their largest lead of the half at 65-58 with 4:44 to go. An Alex Stockner free throw made it 66-60 Bruins with 4:12 left, but then both teams went cold for over three minutes, combining for nine missed shots and four turnovers, before K.C. Wiser connected to close the gap to 66-62 with 1:08 left.

A Martin free throw and two by Linfield’s Cody Tesoro left the Bruins with a 67-64 lead with 31 seconds left, and the Wildcats had a chance to tie it after Atwater missed two free throws with 25 seconds left and Tesoro rebounded. However, Olson misfired on a three-point attempt with 20 seconds left, and Grant Vahalla and Lingenfelder each hit two from the line in the final 17 seconds to secure the win for the Bruins.

Martin paced the Bruins with 16 points and Travis Toedtemeier scored 11, including three three-pointers. The Bruins shot .429 (24-56) from the field, and were hot from the outside, hitting .444 (8-18) on threes. Stockner had five rebounds for the Bruins, who were out-boarded 39-30, and passed out three assists, as did Brady Strutz.

Olson’s 19 points topped the Wildcats, while Wiser added 18 and Tesoro 15. Linfield shot .440 (22-50) from the floor, but was not as successful from long range, making only .238 (5-21) from behind the arc. Wiser and Tesoro collected six rebounds each, while Jon Weber had six assists and three steals. The Wildcats committed 21 turnovers to 15 for the Bruins.

George Fox (5-10, NWC 1-5) hits the road next weekend for two games, first visiting Willamette University Friday at 8:00 pm. Linfield (4-11, NWC 2-4) goes to Pacific Lutheran University Friday at 8:00 pm. Both games will be preceded by NWC women’s games at 6:00 pm.

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