McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Down by 10 points midway through the second half, the George Fox University Bruins rallied to tie the game in the final minute, only to have the Linfield College Wildcats score with 19 seconds left and hang on for a 74-72 Northwest Conference men's basketball victory Tuesday night here at Ted Wilson Gym.
The first half was a back-and-forth tussle, with eight ties, 10 lead changes, and neither team holding more than a six-point advantage. The Bruins twice led by that amount, once at 22-16 after a three-pointer by A.J. Grant midway through the period, and again just before the break at 41-35 on a layup by Seth Brent. It was 41-37 at the half. Both teams torched the nets with over 50 percent shooting in the half, the Bruins hitting 13-22 (.591) from the field and the Wildcats 14-27 (.519).
The see-saw score continued early in the second half, with even swaps of the lead in the first five minutes. A 14-3 Linfield run gave the home team its largest lead at 61-51 with 10 minutes to play, but the Bruins fought back, finally tying the game at 72-72 on a layup by Sean Atkins with 51 ticks left.
The last few seconds were a flurry of action. Ryan Cali drove for what proved to be the winning basket with 19 seconds left, but the Bruins had a chance to tie when Jason Martin was fouled with 12 seconds left. He missed both, but the Bruins immediately fouled and Chris Dirks missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Bruins another chance with nine seconds left. Bolte's driving layup bounced on the rim twice and fell away as the horn sounded, giving Linfield its first conference win of the season.
George Fox fell to 12-6 overall and 5-4 in the conference, momentarily dropping out of a three-way tie for third place in the league standings with Lewis & Clark College and the University of Puget Sound. Linfield improved to 3-15 overall and 1-8 in the NWC.
Grant led the Bruins with 21 points on 7-9 field goals, including 4-6 on threes, with team highs of three assist and three steals. Bolte added 18 points, hitting 7-7 from the line. Martin had a game-high six rebounds as the Bruins held a 26-23 edge on the glass. George Fox finished with a.523 shooting percentage (23-44), making .421 (8-19) on threes, and .783 (18-23) from the stripe.
Ryan Potter led all scorers with 27 points for the Wildcats, 18 in the first half, sinking 10-15 field goals overall and 5-7 from long distance. Tanner Brill added 13 points and Dirks 10 along with a team-high five rebounds. Cali passed out four assists.
NEXT: George Fox hosts Pacific Lutheran University Saturday at 8:00 p.m., following the women's game at 6:00 p.m. … Linfield hosts the University of Puget Sound Friday at 8:00 p.m., with a women's preliminary at 6:00 p.m.