NEWBERG, Ore. – Cam Rier's wide-open layup with 2.2 ticks on the clock gave the George Fox University Bruins a stunning 71-70 upset of Lewis & Clark College, knocking the Pioneers into a tie for second place in the Northwest Conference men's basketball race Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
In earning a split of the season series with the Pios, the Bruins improved to 7-14 overall and 5-7 in the conference. The Pioneers slipped to 15-6 and 8-4 in the league, tied for second with Whitman College, which defeated the University of Puget Sound Saturday.
The teams battled on virtually-even terms for most of the first half, with six ties and seven lead changes. A Mike Taylor layup off the opening tip gave George Fox a quick lead, but the Pios answered with baskets by Kyle Meeuwsen and Kelly Edwards to go ahead. The visitors built the largest lead by either team in the period at 15-8 on two Edwards free throws with 12:26 left.
The Bruins got back in the game with consecutive goals by Cole Whitehurst, Jon Adrian, and Taylor to make it 15-14 with 10:35 left, and neither team held more than a two-point lead over the next seven minutes. Two freebies by Edwards and a three-pointer by Meeuwsen made it 32-27 Pios with 3:08 to go, and they took that five-point margin into the break at 36-31.
Meeuwsen opened the second half with a jumper and a three as the Pios took the largest lead of the game at 41-31, but Rich Smith sparked an 8-0 Bruin run with two baskets and two free throws to make it 41-39 with 15:54 left. A bucket by Marcus Wells and a three by PJ Taylor, who is eighth in the nation in threes, kept the Pios in front, and they built nine-point leads five more times, the last at 62-53 with 7:11 left.
A downtown three by Stephen Wiseley, a three-point play by Sean Atkins, a steal and slam by Taylor, and a Wiseley layin gave George Fox a 62-61 lead with six minutes remaining, but the Pios responded with a 9-2 run to go up 70-64 with 2:06 to play after two Edwards free throws, the last points the Pios would score.
Taylor drained a three with an assist from Rier, then made a steal and jumper to make it a one-point game with 1:08 left. A three-point try by the Pios' Taylor was rebounded by Whitehurst with 12 seconds left, and after a George Fox timeout, the Bruins' Taylor drove the lane and found Rier all alone under the goal for the game-winner when the L&C defense collapsed on him. The Pios threw the ball the length of the court in a final effort to win it, but could not get off a wild shot from the baseline in time.
Taylor led all players with 26 points on 12-16 shooting from the field and 13 rebounds for the Bruins, his second straight double-double and third of the season. Atkins scored a career-high 11, and Wiseley and Smith added 10 apiece. Taylor and Wiseley each had six assists, while Taylor and Adrian both made three steals. The Bruins shot .680 (17-25) on field goals in the second half to finish with a .508 mark (31-61) for the game.
Edwards topped the Pioneers with 22 points, 15 in the first half, and 10 rebounds, leading the visitors to a 38-33 edge on the boards. Meeuwsen added 18 points and Wells tallied 14. Edwards also passed out six assists. The Pios hit 24-60 (.400) from the floor and were 10-29 (.345) on three-pointers, just a bit below their average of 11.10 threes per game, which ranks third nationally.
The game was played before a George Fox Alumni Association-sponsored "Bruin Madness" crowd of some 1,250, the largest home crowd of the season.
NEXT: George Fox visits Whitman and Lewis & Clark hosts Pacific University Friday, both games at 8:00 p.m. following NWC women's games at 6:00 p.m.