McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Making the most of their first Northwest Conference men's basketball Tournament appearance in 12 years, the 3rd-seeded George Fox University Bruins stunned the 2nd-seeded Linfield College Wildcats 76-66 in a semifinal game Thursday night here at Ted Wilson Gym to advance to the title game Saturday in Spokane, Wash.

After springing the upset over Linfield (12-13), which had won both regular season meetings, George Fox (13-13) faces the challenge of knocking off the high-flying and 5th-ranked Whitworth University Pirates (24-2) in Saturday's 7:00 p.m. championship contest.  The winner earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.  Whitworth defeated Lewis & Clark College 89-65 in the other semifinal game, the Pirates' school record-extending 23rd straight win.  The Bruins lost to the Pirates 75-70 in Spokane on Jan. 9, the closest any conference team came to the league champions in 16 games, and 98-88 in Newberg on Feb. 6.

With K.C. Wiser scoring five early points, the Wildcats jumped out to a 9-3 lead three minutes into the game before a boisterous crowd of some 1,200, but it was the largest advantage the home team would have.  The Bruins responded with nine unanswered points, including three-pointers by Stephen Wiseley and Evan Atwater and a jumper by Travis Toedtemeier, to take a 12-9 lead with 13:26 left in the half. 

The game remained tight until midway through the second half, with 11 ties and 13 lead changes.  A three-pointer by Alex Stockner brought the Bruins into a 28-28 deadlock at the half.  Wiser's 11 first-half points led the Wildcats, while Stockner had seven at the break for the Bruins.

Kris Rainwater's jumper opened the second half for the Wildcats, but a three by Jack Martin and a dunk and a jumper by Stockner boosted the Bruins to a 35-30 lead.  A 7-2 run enabled the Wildcats to tie it 37-37 with 14:21 left, and neither team led by more than two points over the next five minutes. 

A Wiseley layup at 9:37 forged the game's final tie at 48-48, and the Bruins took the lead for good on a jumper by Martin at the 8:57 mark.  The Bruins hit five of their next seven shots to extend the lead to 62-56 with five minutes remaining, then added a 7-2 run, capped by a Grant Vahalla three, to take their largest lead of 11 points at 69-58 with three minutes to go.  The Wildcats got no closer than seven thereafter, and Stockner added a final exclamation point with a thunderous fast-break dunk with 28 seconds left for a 75-64 advantage.

George Fox torched the nets for a .571 shooting percentage (16-28) in the second half while limiting Linfield to .368 (7-19).  The Bruins hit .448 (26-58) for the game, including 9-22 from three-point range, with the Wildcats hitting .413 (19-46) from the floor but a meager 1-12 (.083) from behind the arc.  The Bruins, who were badly out-rebounded by the Wildcats in their previous two meetings, owned the boards this time 36-29.

Martin led all scorers with 18 for the Bruins, connecting on 7-11 shots, and Stockner added 15 on 5-7 shooting.  Wiseley chipped in with 13, and Vahalla scored 12.  Stockner and Vahalla had a game-high six rebounds apiece, Wiseley handed out six assists, and Atwater made three steals.  Vahalla also had a pair of blocked shots.

The win was the first in the NWC Tournament for the Bruins since joining the conference for the 1995-96 season.  In their only previous tournament appearance, the Bruins dropped a 91-77 decision at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 25, 1998. 

Wiser's 16 points paced the Wildcats, while Cody Tesoro added 15 and Rainwater 10.  Wiser was their leading rebounder with five, while Tesoro passed out four assists.  The Wildcats, the league leaders in blocked shots, had none against the Bruins.