Box
Score
McMINNVILLE, Ore.
– After battling back from a 10-point second-half deficit,
the Linfield College Wildcats still needed an 11-3 run in the final
minute-and-a-half to fight off the visiting George Fox University
Bruins for a 73-67 win in a Northwest Conference men's
basketball game Saturday night here at Ted Wilson Gym.
A 12-0 run that began and ended with three-pointers by Brady
Strutz and Alex Stockner gave the Bruins control of the first half
as they forged a 19-9 lead with 13:12 left in the
period. The visitors stayed comfortably in front
throughout the rest of the half, four times taking 11-point leads,
the last at 36-25 on a pair of free throws by Evan Atwater with
3:27 left. After the Wildcats closed within six
at 38-32 on a conventional three-point play by Erik Olson, Joe Ahn
hit two free throws two seconds before the buzzer to send the
Bruins to the locker room with a 40-32 advantage.
The Bruins hit .448 (13-29) from the floor in the half, .500
(5-10) from three-point range, and .818 (9-11) from the line to
build their lead. The Wildcats made only .351
(13-37) on field goals in the half, including a meager .125 (1-8)
from three-point range, and only .556 (5-9) on free
throws. Olson kept Linfield in the game with 13
points while Stockner led the Bruins with 10.
Strutz hit a jumper to start the second half as the Bruins again
opened up a 10-point lead, and they were still in front by that
margin at 50-40 after Atwater nailed a three with 13:19 to
go. The Wildcats then caught fire, hitting seven
of their next nine shots while the Bruins hit only two of five and
committed three turnovers in a five-minute span, enabling the
Wildcats to catch up and take the lead 56-55 on a layup by Austin
Hunt with 8:10 to play.
The Yamhill County rivals then battled on even terms until the
Bruins took their last lead of 64-62 on a three-pointer by Jack
Martin with 1:57 remaining. Cody Tesoro answered
with a three for the Wildcats at 1:33 to make it 65-64
Linfield. Tesoro sank another three and two free
throws for a 70-64 lead with 31 seconds left.
Ahn hit a free throw and Stockner rebounded a miss on the second
one and put it back in, making it a one-possession game at 70-67
with 17 seconds to go, but Olson canned two free throws and K.C.
Wiser one to clinch the comeback victory for the home team.
Stockner had 16 points and Atwater 13 to pace the Bruins, who
faded from the field in the second half to shoot .375 (24-64) for
the game and .333 (4-12) on threes. Ahn had
eight rebounds.
Olson with 22 points, Tesoro with 16, and Matt McCollum with 10
led the Wildcats in scoring. McCollum had a
double-double with 11 rebounds, the same number that Wiser grabbed
as the Wildcats controlled the glass 43-41. Jon
Weber handed out five assists. Linfield finished
with a .446 shooting percentage (29-65) after sizzling in the
second half with a .571 mark (16-28).
George Fox (8-15, NWC 4-10) concludes its season with a pair of
games next weekend, starting Friday with Willamette University at
home at 8:00 p.m. Linfield (10-13, NWC 8-6)
welcomes Pacific Lutheran University Friday at 8:00 p.m. as
well. Both games will be preceded by NWC
women's games at 6:00 p.m.
