NEWBERG, Ore. – Setting a new school record for the best start to a season, the third-ranked Whitworth University Pirates used a 35-6 stretch in the middle of the game to roll over the George Fox University Bruins 81-57 in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
In dropping their 11th straight match with the Pirates, the Bruins fell to 4-10 on the season and 2-3 in the conference. The conference-leading Pirates improved to 14-0, eclipsing the 13-0 start by the 2006-07 team, and 5-0 in the NWC.
The first half was a battle of the Mike Taylors, as the Pirates' Taylor scored 12 points to lead his team and the Bruins' Taylor had a team-high 11. After the Pirates' Taylor scored the first two points of the game, the Bruins tied it on a Stephen Wiseley jumper and then took the lead on a three-pointer by their Taylor.
Hitting 10 of their first 14 shots, including five threes, the Bruins stayed ahead most of the half, building seven-point leads four times. After the Pirates tied it 29-29 on a three by David Riley with 5:40 left, the Bruins went on an 8-1 run, led by a layup and a three from the corner by Corey Clark, to take a 37-30 lead with 2:38 to go. However, the Pirates scored the last nine points of the half to take a 39-37 halftime advantage, Clay Gebbers' layup with eight seconds left breaking the 37-37 deadlock.
After their hot start, the Bruins cooled off but finished the half with a .519 shooting percentage (14-27), including a .467 mark (7-15) from beyond the arc. The Pirates shot .556 (15-27) from the field but were only 2-10 from three-point range.
Continuing their hot hand from the end of the first period, the Pirates went on a 13-2 run to open the second half, limiting the Bruins to a pair of Wiseley free throws, in building a 52-39 lead with 14:46 remaining. After the Bruins' Taylor hit a rebound basket, the Pirates went on another burst of 13-2 to take a 22-point lead of 65-43 with 8:05 to play on a basket by Felix Friedt, all but clinching the Pirates' record-setting win. The final score was the largest margin of the game.
The Bruins were led by Taylor with 18 points, including four three-pointers, and Wiseley with 10. Struggling with a .286 shooting percentage (6-21) in the second half, the Bruins ended at .417 (20-48) for the game. Wiseley,5-9 point guard, led the Bruins in rebounds with six as the bigger Pirates won the battle on the boards 34-25, and also handed out a game-high six assists.
The balanced Pirates placed five players in double figures in points, led by Friedt with 19 on 7-8 field goals. Taylor added 17, Riley 11, and Loofburrow and Gebbers 10 each. Whitworth connected on 30-55 from the field (.545) and 15-19 (.789) from the line. Gebbers also had a team-leading eight rebounds and four assists.
NEXT: George Fox hosts Whitman College Saturday while Whitworth visits Willamette University, both games starting at 6:00 p.m. Both games will be part of NWC doubleheaders, with the women's games preceding at 4:00 p.m. The starts are two hours earlier than usual to accommodate travel plans back home for the eastern Washington teams.