Box
Score
NEWBERG, Ore. - Forward Garold Howe poured in 22 of his
game-high 28 points in the second half, rallying the Pacific
University Boxers from 12 points down to a 74-70 victory over the
George Fox University Bruins in a Northwest Conference men's
basketball game Saturday night here at the Pacific Athletic Center.
After a tight first seven minutes of the game, George Fox took a
lead it would hold throughout the half when Brent Satern hit a pair
of free throws for a 9-8 lead with 13:12 to go. Leading 12-10 with
seven minutes remaining, the Bruins got rolling with 12-4 outburst
over the next three-and-a-half minutes to take their largest lead
of 24-14 with 3:27 left. A pair of baskets in the lane by Bryan
O'Connell and a layup and three-pointer by Evan Atwater keyed the
charge. The Boxers got within five when A.J. Gaulton hit a pair of
free throws with 1:06 remaining, but the Bruins took a 30-22 lead
into the break when Satern hit a running 35-foot three-pointer at
the buzzer.
The Bruins stretched their lead to 12 points at 36-24 with 17:40
left in the game on a pair of Satern free throws before the Boxers
began their comeback. Thomas Hinderman scored seven points in an
18-10 Pacific run that cut the George Fox lead to four at 46-42
with 11:47 to play - and then Howe took over. In the space of
six-and-a-half minutes, he scored 12 points in the midst of a 13-8
run that put the Boxers up 55-54 with 5:24 left.
The Boxers never trailed again and twice led by as many as seven
points, but the Bruins stayed closed as Atwater, who had 15 in the
second half, hit a pair of three-pointers and all his free throws
when fouled on a three-point try. Brent Satern's short jumper in
the lane with 0:08 left cut the Pacific lead to two at 70-68, but
Howe hit four frees throws in the final seven seconds to ice the
win, offsetting a late layup by Mark Metzler.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half (the
Bruins shot .310, the Boxers .231) but blistered the nets in the
second half. The Bruins hit .560 (14-25) in the final 20 minutes
while the Boxers connected on .552 (16-29), including seven of
their final nine field goal attempts. It was the fifth time in six
conference games that George Fox held a sizeable lead in the second
half, only to let victory slip away late in the game, but this
time, the culprit was not poor free throw shooting (the Bruins hit
17-23 for a .739 mark) - it was too much Howe.
Atwater finished with a career-high 26 points, making five
three-pointers and 7-7 from the line, while Satern added 17 points
and O'Connell 14, hitting 7-9 from the floor. Travis Toedtemeier
had five rebounds and Satern passed out four assists.
Joining Howe in the Boxer scoring parade were Gaulton and
Hinderman with 11 each. Gaulton had a game-high eight rebounds as
the Boxers out-rebounded the Bruins 37-32, and also had three
assists. The Boxers made 26-33 (.788) from the free throw line.
George Fox (4-11, NWC 0-6) will try to end its eight-game losing
streak Friday at Whitman College, while Pacific (5-10, NWC 3-3)
visits Willamette University Friday. Both games tip off at 8:00
p.m. following NWC women's games at 6:00 p.m.
