SALEM, Ore. – In a game of extreme streaks, the George Fox University Bruins built an 18-point lead late in the first half, fell behind by eight midway through the second, then rallied to win by eight over the Corban University Warriors 83-75 in a non-conference men's basketball game Monday night here at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
After three early lead changes and a 7-7 tie, the Bruins broke in front on two Davis Martin free throws and a three-pointer by Mike Taylor and led the rest of the first period. The Bruins built their largest lead of the half at 35-17 on a putback by Rich Smith at the 4:43 mark, but went cold after that. Aided by four George Fox turnovers and three missed shots the rest of the way, the Warriors ended the half on a 14-2 tear to cut the Bruins' halftime lead to 37-31.
Smith and Stephen Wiseley led the Bruins with eight points in the period, while Jordan Carter and Erik Cronrath topped the Warriors with 12 apiece. Carter had 12 of Corban's first 17 points and Cronrath scored six in the Warriors' closing rush.
The Bruins scored the first two baskets of the second half on a fast break layup by Smith and a rebound of his own miss by Wiseley, but Jake Mauermann hit three threes in a row to pull the Warriors within one at 43-42 with 17:12 to play. Corban took its first lead of the half at 45-44 on a layup by Carter with 16:25 left, and the teams traded baskets for the next six minutes.
With the score knotted at 55-55, the Warriors reeled off eight unanswered points, keyed by a layup and a trey by Nash Keene, to go up 63-55 with 10:30 remaining. The Bruins bounced back with a 10-1 run behind a pair of layups by Smith and Jon Adrian to regain the advantage 65-64 with seven minutes left. After an exchange of goals, Corban took its final lead at 68-67 on a Jacob Kopra layin with 6:20 to go.
Wiseley then put the Bruins ahead for good with a three from the right wing, and added a layup and a free throw in a 10-0 run that made it 77-68 with 3:52 to play. The Bruins' career free throw percentage leader at .871 entering the game, he padded that stat by hitting 6-of-6 from the line the rest of the way to keep the Warriors at bay.
Wiseley finished with a game-high 24 points, including 10-11 from the line, handed out eight assists, and made six steals. Smith added 18 points, Cole Whitehurst scored 14 while hitting 8-8 from the line, and Taylor tossed in 11. Whitehurst posted his first career double-double by grabbing a game and career-high 12 rebounds. The Bruins shot .444 (28-63) from the field, including 5-15 on threes, and .846 (22-26) on free throws.
Carter led Corban with 21 points, followed by Cronrath with 13, Mauermann with 12, and Keene with 10. Carter had nine rebounds as the Warriors held a 41-36 advantage on the boards. Cronrath and Jonathan Ramirez passed out four assists each. Corban shot .441 (30-68), including 6-20 on threes, and .563 (9-16) from the stripe. The Warriors extended their streak of games with a made three-pointer to 797 in a row, a national record for every level of college basketball.
Long-time George Fox statistician Mike "Biggs" Wirta was in attendance for his 700th consecutive Bruin men's game, home or away, and that achievement was announced to the crowd to a nice round of applause during halftime.
NEXT: George Fox (2-6), which ended a three-game skid with the win, begins a three-game road swing through southern California Tuesday, Dec. 28, at La Sierra University at 7:30 p.m. ... Corban (10-5), which had a three-game winning streak snapped, plays again Thursday, Dec. 30, hosting Southern Oregon University in a Cascade Collegiate Conference game at 5:30 p.m.