NEWBERG, Ore. - Anthony Sanchez scored a rebound basket at the buzzer Sunday night to give the host George Fox Bruins a 53-52 win over Pacific Lutheran in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game played in Wheeler Center.
The teams entered the game with identical 8-8 overall records, including 5-2 marks in the conference. With the win, George Fox improves to 6-2 in conference play, good for a second-place tie with Whitman. PLU drops to 5-3, tied with Puget Sound for fourth place with the first half of the conference season in the books. Of PLU's three conference defeats, two have come by a single point and the other came in overtime against NWC leader Whitworth.
Pacific Lutheran had taken a 52-51 lead on Cameron Schilling's jump shot with 10 seconds to play, giving the Bruins one last chance to win the game. PLU played tough defense and forced Mike Taylor to shoot an air ball from three-point range. Sanchez was in the right spot on the weak side, grabbing the air ball and laying it off the glass as the final buzzer sounded and the red light lit up on the backboard. Officials ruled that the basket counted, and the game was over.
The Lutes led by as many as four points in the early going, but the Bruins eventually built a 29-19 advantage on a Spencer Bolte free throw with 2:51 left in the half. PLU scored the final six points of the period to close to within 29-25 at the break.
PLU trailed for the first 12 minutes of the final period until Terrell Williams scored back-to-back baskets to give the Lutes a 46-44 lead with 6:26 to play. The Bruins went back on top 49-46 on Taylor's basket with 5:40 left, but Taylor picked up a technical foul and the Lutes cashed in with a pair of free throws and a jump shot from Schilling to make it 50-49 PLU.
George Fox got the lead back at 51-50 on a pair of Sean Atkins free throws with 4:18 on the clock, and for the next four minutes points were impossible to come by against two aggressive defenses.
Pacific Lutheran worked the ball around before Schilling hit the jumper that gave his team a 52-51 lead, but that set up the rebound basket by Sanchez at the buzzer, giving the Bruins the victory.
Schilling had another good game for the Lutes, tallying game highs of 18 points and eight rebounds. James Conti added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Lutes, who shot 33 percent (20-for-61) from the field, including a dismal 14 percent (2-for-14) from beyond the three-point line.
Atkins scored 14 points, Taylor added 13 and Sanchez finished with 11 for the Bruins, who shot 39 percent (19-for-49) overall and 25 percent (4-for-16) from long range.
Both teams finished with 37 rebounds and the Lutes had 10 turnovers compared to 13 for George Fox.
Pacific Lutheran is back in action at 8 p.m. Friday when it hosts Linfield College in Northwest Conference play.
- PLU -