Box
Score
NEWBERG, Ore. - For 32 minutes, it appeared as if the George Fox
University Bruins might pull off an upset over the University of
Puget Sound, but the 10th-ranked Loggers blew past the Bruins with
a 22-2 blitz in the final eight minutes en route to a 90-78 road
win in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Saturday night
here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
Puget Sound led only once in the first half when Robert Krauel
sank a pair of free throws for a 9-8 lead three minutes into the
game, but the remainder of the period belonged to the Bruins. With
center Bryan O'Connell pouring in 13 points on 6-7 shooting,
several of them on length-of-the-court passes when the Loggers were
full court pressing, and point guard Brent Satern adding 10 points
and six assists, the Bruins twice led by as many as eight points
and still maintained a 46-45 lead heading into intermission. Nine
first-half points by Steffond Brown off the bench and eight by
Weston Wood kept the Loggers in the game.
There were three ties and six lead changes through the first
seven minutes of the second half. A jumper by Mark Metzler gave the
Bruins a 60-59 lead with 13:03 left, and they stretched that to
eight points three more times, the last at 76-68 with 7:55
remaining on a pair of free shots by O'Connell - and then things
turned suddenly sour for the home team.
In the space of 96 seconds, the Loggers seized the lead for good
on layups by Jason Foster and Brown, a three-pointer by Taylor
Marsh, and a jumper by Wood. The Loggers then added seven more
points over the next four minutes to go up 84-76 on a Brown free
throw with 2:09 to play. O'Connell hit a pair of free throws with
1:20 left to break the 14-point swing, but they were the last
points the Bruins could muster. Two Foster freebies with 17 seconds
left made the 12-point final the Loggers' largest lead.
O'Connell scored a game and career high 23 points, sinking 9-13
from the field, while Satern finished with 14 points and a
game-high nine assists, and Stephen Campbell added 10 points in a
reserve role. Evan Atwater led the Bruins on the boards with five
rebounds. George Fox shot .500 (30-60) for the game and .800
(16-20) from the line.
Five Loggers reached double figures in points, led by Krauel's
19 on 7-9 shooting. Wood added 14, Foster and Brown 12 apiece, and
Antwan Williams scored 10 to go along with four assists and five
steals. Krauel also had eight rebounds as the Loggers won the
battle of the boards 32-27. Puget Sound shot a sizzling .600
(33-55) from the floor, including .750 (18-24) in the second half,
and .760 (19-25) from the charity stripe.
George Fox (4-7, NWC 0-2) travels to Willamette University
Friday, while Puget Sound (9-1, NWC 2-0) goes to cross-town Tacoma
rival Pacific Lutheran University Tuesday. Both games are at 8 p.m.
following NWC women's games at 6 p.m.
