Box Score

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Evan Atwater hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to force a second overtime, then hit six free throws to keep his team in front in the second extra period as the George Fox University Bruins outlasted the Whitman College Missionaries 82-75 for their first Northwest Conference men's basketball victory of the season Friday night here at the Sherwood Center.

Both teams entered the contest winless in conference play, George Fox at 0-6 in the NWC and riding an eight-game losing streak, and Whitman at 0-7 in the conference with seven straight losses, so something had to give.

The game was closely contested all the way, with 10 ties, 11 lead changes, and neither team taking more than a six-point lead in regulation. George Fox held sway throughout most of the first half, taking a six-point lead of 18-12 at 7:53 on a pair of Brent Satern free throws, and led 22-18 at the half. Chris Faidley, the conference's leading scorer and No. 8 nationally with a 23.9 average for the Missionaries, was held by the Bruin defense, primarily Mark Metzler in a man-to-man, to three first-half points on 1-5 shooting.

Sparked by consecutive three-pointers by Jordan Wheeler, Garth Brandal, and Brendan Zeigler, the Missionaries went on a 14-4 run to open the second half and took their largest lead of six at 32-26 with 17:06 to play. A 17-7 run by the Bruins over the next 12 minutes, capped by a Grant Vahalla three, put the visitors back in front by four at 43-39 with just over five minutes left. A three-pointer and two free throws by Faidley gave Whitman a 45-43 edge with 2:49 to go, bu the Bruins eventually tied it 48-48 on a Satern freebie with 19 seconds left, and Faidley missed an NBA-range three at the horn to bring on overtime.

After two low-scoring regulation halves, the overtimes turned into high-scoring affairs, with each team scoring 18 points in the first five-minute overtime. The Missionaries scored the first six points and led the entire period until Atwater hit an off-balance three from the left of the key while closely guarded with a second remaining, forcing a second extra period.

With three Bruin starters on the bench with five fouls, reserve Travis Toedtemeier hit a three to open the scoring for the Bruins in the second overtime, only to have Faidley answer with a three while being fouling and adding the free throw for a 70-69 Whitman lead one minute in. Matt Noble hit a pair of layups around a three-point miss by Faidley to give George Fox a 73-70 lead with 2:48 remaining, but the Missionaries rallied to tie it 74-74 on a layup by Graham Brewer with 1:25 left. Toedtemeier put the Bruins ahead for good with another three at 1:06, and Atwater hit 5-6 from the stripe in the remaining time as the Missionaries were forced to foul to catch up.

Satern led the Bruins with 21 points, hitting 9-13 free throws, before fouling out, while Atwater posted his first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Bryan O'Connell, who also fouled out, added 15 points. Satern had five assists and four steals. The Bruins held a 50-37 advantage in rebounding.

Faidley wound up with 28 points for Whitman to lead all scorers, but had to go 13-15 from the line to do it and posted a double-double with 11 rebounds . Wheeler added 17 points and Brewer had 16. Wheeler had four assists, and Faidley made three steals.

George Fox (5-11, NWC 1-6) now takes on league-leading Whitworth University Saturday at 8:00 p.m. in Spokane, Wash. Whitman (3-12, NWC 0-8) hosts the University of California-Santa Cruz in a non-conference game Saturday at 6:00 p.m.