Box
Score
PORTLAND, Ore. – A second-half scoring surge of 61
points and a hot hand from the free throw line enabled Lewis &
Clark College to break open a tight ballgame and the Pioneers
pulled away from the visiting George Fox University Bruins for a
97-83 victory in Northwest Conference men's basketball action
Friday night here at the Pamplin Sports Center.
Good shooting by the Bruins (15-27 for a .556 percentage) and a
10-point half by Bryan O'Connell off the bench kept the
Bruins in the game in the first half after the Pioneers had
threatened to run away with it. Twice the Pios
took eight-point leads, the second at 25-17 with 8:54 left in the
period on a pair of free throws by David Berggren, who had 12
first-half points. The Pios also pressured the
Bruins into 11 first-half turnovers while making only two of their
own.
The Bruins battled back within two at 27-25 with 6:42 to go on a
rare four-point play by Joe Ahn, who was fouled while making a
three-pointer. He missed the free throw, but
made good on a second chance at it after a Pioneer lane
violation. O'Connell then went to work,
making a rebound basket to cut the deficit to 30-27, a jump hook
that made it 32-31 Pios, a left-handed hook for a 34-33 Bruin lead,
and two free throws for a 35-34 George Fox edge with 38 seconds to
play. Josh Kollasch hit two free throws with 5.7
seconds left as the Pios regained the lead, only to see the
visitors take a 37-36 advantage into the locker room after Travis
Toedtemeier's jumper in the lane at the buzzer bounced high
off the rim and then fell through.
The teams continued to trade leads through the first three minutes
of the second half before the Pios began to take
control. A 7-0 run featuring a rebound basket by
James Hollins, a jumper by Drake Green, and a three by P.J. Taylor
gave the Pios their first double-digit lead of 59-49 with 12:47
left, and the teams essentially swapped baskets over the next five
minutes. The Pios then pulled away, taking a
17-point lead of 80-63 as Hollins nailed a three from the right
corner with six minutes remaining. The Bruins
got no closer than 10 points thereafter when Jack Martin hit a
three to make it 91-81 with 1:44 left.
Martin topped the Bruins with 23 points, 17 in the second half,
and Alex Stockner scored 16, 14 in the final
period. Ahn and O'Connell finished with 12
points apiece. Evan Atwater had seven rebounds
as the boards were equal, 32-32, and Martin handed out six
assists. George Fox connected on .550 from the
field (33-60).
A trio of Pioneers scored over 20 points, with Kollasch tallying
23 and Hollins and Berggren 21 each. James
Edwards added 15. Hollins had a game-high eight
rebounds, and Kollasch handed out eight assists.
The Pios shot .500 (33-66) from the field for the game, and with
the field goals being equal (33 for each team, and eight threes for
each), won the game at the line by hitting 23-26 (.885) to only
9-14 (.643) for the Bruins. The Pios also made
only seven turnovers to 17 for the visitors.
George Fox (4-8, NWC 0-3) hosts the 17th-ranked University of
Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark entertains Pacific University
Saturday, both games at 8:00 p.m. The games will
be preceded by NWC women's games at 6:00 p.m.
