Jan. 20 NWC Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

Women: At George Fox 68, Willamette 48

Newberg, Ore. -- Shooting guard Kellie Thomas scored a game-high 22 points, 16 in the first half, and the George Fox Bruins never trailed in rolling to a 68-48 win over the visiting Willamette University Bearcats in Northwest Conference women’s basketball action Tuesday night at Miller Gym in the Wheeler Sports Center.

The game was tied twice in the first five minutes, but two free throws by Robin Taylor and three straight baskets by Kim Leith lifted the Bruins from an 8-8 tie to a 16-8 lead with 11:29 left, and the Bearcats got no closer than 6 the rest of the period.  It was 40-24 George Fox at the half, and the Bruins extended that to as much as 27 in the second half on Katie Plumb’s layup with 9:17 to go, making it 58-31 at that point.

George Fox used its dominance on the boards to control the game, holding a 47-39 advantage over the Bearcats, including 15 on the offensive end.  The Bruin defense forced 22 Willamette turnovers and held the Bearcats to a 32.1 shooting percentage (18-56) while committing only 17 turnovers themselves and shooting 39.7 percent (27-68).

In addition to Thomas’ big game, Leith finished with 12 for the Bruins.  Liz Clark grabbed 11 rebounds, and Leith led the defensive effort with 4 steals. 

Simmie Muth was the Bearcats’ only double-figure scorer with 11 points and also had 5 assists, while Deanna Lund had a game-high 14 rebounds.

George Fox is now 9-5 overall and evened its conference record at 3-3.  Willamette dropped its 4th straight to fall to 4-9 overall and 0-4 in the conference.

The Bruins are off for 10 days before hosting Whitman College on Friday, Jan. 30.  The Bearcats host the University of Puget Sound this Friday, Jan. 23.  Both games are at 6:00 p.m., followed by men’s games at 8:00 p.m.

Men: Willamette 75, at George Fox 68 (ot)

Newberg, Ore. -- If it had to be the 1,000th loss in their men’s basketball history, the George Fox University Bruins intended to make it a good one, and that they did, falling 75-68 to the visiting Willamette University Bearcats in a Northwest Conference overtime thriller Tuesday night at Miller Gym in the Wheeler Sports Center.

Willamette raced out to a 12-0 lead to start the game before Mark Gayman’s jumper at 17:09 got the Bruins on the scoreboard.  Although they never caught up in the half, the Bruins did go into the break down by only a pair at 30-28.  A 3-pointer by Bryan Wadlow with 18:13 to go in the second half gave the Bruins a short-lived 33-32 lead before David Force responded with a jumper to put the Bearcats back on top. 

The Bearcats extended that lead to as much as 10 twice, the last on a Brennan Garrelts layup with 8:12 left to make it 55-45 Willamette.  Scott Szalay responded with baskets on three consecutive trips down the court to spark the Bruins’ comeback, and Aaron Schmick put the Bruins ahead with a 3-pointer with 2:13 to go.  Brett Yeager’s two free throws at 1:27 made it 62-59, but Harold Sublett, Jr. hit a game-tying 3-pointer from the right corner with 6.7 seconds left to knot it, the only shot he hit in 9 tries.  Schmick got off a 3-point shot as time expired, but it skimmed the front of the rim and fell to the floor, sending the game to overtime.

Szalay’s layup 15 seconds into overtime gave the Bruins an early lead, but John Olinger made a steal and layup and Force hit a layup with 3:24 left, and the Bearcats never trailed again.  Force later added a three and two free throws for 7 of his game-high 27 points to ice the win.

Szalay finished with a career-high 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins, leading them to a 40-34 edge on the boards.  Schmick added 12 points, and Gayman and Wadlow scored 10 each.  Yeager had a game and career-high 7 assists.

In addition to Force’s 27, Olinger had 14 points a d Garrelts 12.  Sublett grabbed 9 rebounds, and Olinger had a game-high 5 steals.

George Fox fell to 3-11 overall and 0-6 in the conference with its 8th loss in a row.  The Bruins now have a historical record, in 100 seasons for which there are records, of 966-1,000-1.  Willamette improved to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the league.

The Bruins are off for a week, hosting Multnomah Bible College in their final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m.  The Bearcats host the University of Puget Sound Friday, Jan. 23, at 8:00 p.m., following a women’s game at 6:00 p.m.