NEWBERG, Ore. - Cameron Schilling scored 19 points for Pacific Lutheran but his potential game-tying three-point attempt was blocked from behind and the host George Fox Bruins escaped Wheeler Sports Center on Saturday with a 66-61 Northwest Conference men's basketball win.
For PLU, the loss was their fourth straight in the conference and drops their record to 4-13 overall and 2-6 at the halfway mark of the NWC schedule. George Fox, meanwhile, won its third straight NWC contest and is now 9-6 overall and 5-2 in the conference.
Schilling had a big game for the Lutes, but it was the Bruins who made the plays down the stretch to pull out the victory.
George Fox seemed on the verge of blowing the game open in the first half, taking a 33-18 lead on a three-pointer by Jason Martin with 7:05 on the clock.
Undaunted, PLU started a rally that cut the deficit to seven points by halftime. Seth Anderson, Daniel Landram and Cole Parker hit consecutive baskets to start the surge. When Drew Earnest drained a three from deep on the left wing with a little more than one minute left in the period, the Lutes pulled to within 38-31, which as it turned out was the halftime score.
Cameron Schilling had nine points and the Lutes committed just two turnovers compared to nine for their opponent through the first period, but George Fox was 8-for-15 from beyond the three-point line to build its advantage.
After ending the first period with four straight points, the Lutes opened the second half with 10 more unanswered points. Bryce Miller and Landram both had four points and Schilling capped the run with a layup as the Lutes took a 41-38 lead about four minutes into the final period.
From that point until the final buzzer there were nine lead changes and three ties with neither team leading by more than four points until there was less than one second showing on the clock.
Pacific Lutheran took its last lead of the game, 59-58, on Schilling's jumper with 4:04 to play, before George Fox regained the lead for good on a pair of Sean Atkins free throws with 2:25 left.
Trailing 64-61 with 5.6 seconds on the clock, the Lutes threw a long downcourt pass to Schilling, but his three-pointer from the top of the key was blocked from behind. Seth Brent retrieved the ball for the Bruins, was fouled, and hit two game-finishing free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining.
Schilling was the only PLU player to finish in double-figure scoring, and he also led his team with eight rebounds. Pacific Lutheran shot 41 percent (26-for-63) from the field and managed to get to the foul line just six time, hitting four of those.
George Fox, which finished 15-for-18 at the charity stripe, got 11 points each from four players - Atkins, Brent, Anthony Sanchez and A.J. Grant. The Bruins 43 percent (21-for-49) overall and also enjoyed a 38-30 rebounding edge, led by Brent with a game-high nine boards.
PLU plays six of its final eight regular season games in Olson Auditorium, starting with at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, against Whitman.
- PLU -