NEWBERG, Ore. – Despite setting a new team record for best free throw percentage in a game, the George Fox University Bruins were burned by two last-minute layups by Kyle MacTaggart that gave the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes a 60-58 Northwest Conference men's basketball win Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
The Bruins hit 13-13 (1.000) from the line against PLU, breaking the old record of 12-12 at Willamette University on Jan. 24, 2003. In a bizarre twist to the stats, the Bruins had entered the game with the lowest free throw percentage in the conference (.649), which had proven costly to them in several close games. This time, however, it was an inability to stop MacTaggart's two late drives that doomed the home team to another gut-wrenching loss.
The game was closely contested throughout, with 11 ties, seven lead changes, and never a double-digit lead by either team. After an early two-point George Fox lead and two ties, the Lutes broke a 4-4 tie on a layup and free throw by Cameron Schilling and held the lead for over 10 minutes. Andrew Earnest's layup with 10:37 left gave the Lutes a 15-8 lead, but the Bruins put together a 9-0 run, taking a 17-15 lead on a three-pointer by Stephen Wiseley with 8:15 to go.
George Fox maintained a slim edge for the next five minutes, but a long-range three by Earnest enabled the Lutes to regain the advantage 27-25. After a Mike Taylor jumper tied it for the Bruins, the Lutes got three-pointers by Earnest, who had 10 first-half points, and Tony Polis around a layup by Victor Bull to take a 35-27 halftime lead.
The Bruins got back into the game by scoring the first seven points of the second half on a dunk by Cole Whitehurst, a three-point play by Rich Smith, and two Taylor free tosses. After a Schilling layup, Smith sank back-to-back baskets and Taylor added a layup for a 40-37 George Fox lead at the 15:39 mark.
The home team extended the margin to six at 47-41 on a three by Wiseley with 8:35 to play, only to see the Lutes go on an 8-0 run, capped by a Kole Podowicz jumper, to move ahead 49-47 with 6:09 left. Taylor tied it with a layup, then Podowicz and Taylor swapped threes before MacTaggart broke the 52-52 deadlock with two free throws at 3:47. Smith tied it with a putback of his own miss at 2:46, and Wiseley gave the Bruins the lead with two free throws at 2:08.
Curtis Trondsen knotted it again with a baseline jumper for PLU, but Taylor's running jumper in the lane made it 58-56 Bruins with 1:02 showing. MacTaggart's wide-open layup off a screen re-tied it at 0:49, and after a costly Bruin turnover with 22 seconds remaining, MacTaggart again drove for a layup, though this one was tightly contested, with eight ticks left, which proved to be the game-winner when the Bruins missed two close-in shots as time expired.
Taylor led all scorers with 19 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds for the Bruins, while Wiseley scored 12 points with six assists and Smith added 11 points. Whitehurst had a game-high 10 rebounds as the Bruins held a 40-32 advantage on the glass.
Earnest was the only Lute in double digits with 15 points, but Schilling had nine along with a team-high eight rebounds. Bull, Earnest, and Polis had two assists each, and Earnest made three steals.
NEXT: George Fox (5-14, NWC 3-7) visits Pacific University next Friday, while Pacific Lutheran (11-6, NWC 6-3) is back in action Saturday, also at Pacific. Both contests will tip off at 8:00 p.m., following NWC women's games at 6:00 p.m.