MBSK: Bruins to Make First NWC Tournament Appearance Since ’98 at Linfield Thursday

NEWBERG, Ore. - Playing in the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time since the 1997-98 season, the George Fox University Bruins will visit their Yamhill County rivals, the Linfield College Wildcats, in one of two semi-final games this Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7:00 p.m. at Ted Wilson Gym in McMinnville.

Linfield has announced that tickets for the game will be $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and seniors 65 and up.  Linfield and George Fox students will be admitted free with a valid college ID; faculty and staff will need to purchases tickets.  NWC passes only are valid for the game, and no other regular season passes will be honored.  All seats are general admission and will be sold on the day of the game only.

George Fox is 12-13 overall and tied for third with Lewis & Clark College, both 9-7 in league play.  The Bruins swept the season series with the Pioneers and thus received the #3 seed in the tournament.  Linfield is the #2 seed at 12-12 overall and 10-6 in the NWC.  #4 seed Lewis & Clark will travel to Spokane, Wash., to take on the #1 seed Whitworth University Pirates, who are 23-2 overall, 16-0 in the conference, and riding a school-record 21-game winning streak.

The championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m. at the site of the highest-remaining seed after Thursday's games to determine the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.  If the bottom two seeds win, the Bruins would host that game, which could turn into a doubleheader if the George Fox women, who are the #1 seed in the NWC women's tournament, win their semi-final game with Lewis & Clark Thursday.

Live audio will be provided by Linfield via Stretch Internet for Thursday's game at http://www.stretchinternet.com/linschedule.html.

If the Bruins get to host on Saturday, live stats, live internet audio from campus station KFOX radio, and live video streaming via Stretch Internet will be provided for at the following links:

Live Stats: http://athletics.georgefox.edu/livestats/index

Live Audio: http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/asc/kfoxradio/

Live Video: http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=georgefox&o=cal_stamp&sd=today

The only other time the Bruins appeared in the NWC Tournament after joining the league in the summer of 1995 was a 91-77 loss at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 25, 1998.  There was no conference tournament from 2000-2005 as the NWC opted to send only its regular-season champion to the NCAA playoffs because of a limited number of at-large bids.  As the NCAA field expanded, the NWC reinstituted its tournament in 2006.