PORTLAND, Ore. – Aaron Schmick kept George Fox University close with his first career double-double and Philip Heu-Weller nailed three three-point field goals in the final two minutes, lifting the Bruins to a hard-fought 65-62 win over the Northwest Christian College Crusaders in the first round of the RBC Mortgage/Windermere Real Estate Holiday Tournament Friday evening here at Concordia University’s Cavalier Dome.
With Schmick hitting a three and a layup, George Fox went on a 7-2 run to take an early 9-4 lead five minutes into the game. The Bruins went cold over the next seven minutes, however, as the Crusaders launched a 14-3 run of their own, forging an 18-12 lead. Led by Josh Harbert’s 10 first-half points, the Crusaders led by as many as nine at 29-20 and were up 29-22 at the half, Schmick’s 12 points keeping the Bruins in the game.
The Bruins opened the second half with 13-5 run, Scott Szalay’s rebound basket giving them their first lead since early in the game at 35-34 with 15:48 to play. Matt Simonson’s three-pointer from the left wing put the Crusaders back in front, and they did not trail again until the game’s final two minutes, though the Bruins managed to tie it four times during that span.
Schmick’s driving layup with a free throw tacked on cut the NWC lead to 57-56 with 2:22 to play, and Heu-Weller put the Bruins on top with a three from the left corner with 2:00 left. Harbert hit a baseline jumper, was fouled, and made the free throw for a 60-59 Crusader lead with 1:31 to go, but Heu-Weller hit another trey at 1:08 for a 62-60 Bruin advantage. Simonson’s layup off a screen with 53 seconds left knotted it 62-62 before Heu-Weller canned his third triple of the waning moments with 33 seconds to go, and the Bruins led 65-62.
Simonson’s try for a tying three with 5 seconds left bounced off the rim and was batted out long by the Crusaders’ Chis Lohrey to teammate Kyle Pratt, but Pratt’s heave from near half-court bounced off the top of the backboard as time expired.
Schmick finished with 25 points and game highs of 11 rebounds and 5 steals, the latter two career highs. Mark Gayman had 10 points before fouling out, and Heu-Weller had all 9 of his points in the final two minutes. Brent Satern passed out 4 assists.
Simonson had 18 to lead the Crusaders, Harbert scored 16, Joe Beal added 14, and Lohrey had 10. Lohrey pulled down 8 rebounds, and Pratt handed out 9 assists.
George Fox improved to 3-2 with its third straight win, while the Crusaders fell to 4-5.
In the second game, the Concordia Cavaliers knocked off the Multnomah Bible College Ambassadors. Saturday’s tournament schedule has Northwest Christian vs. Multnomah Bible (4-7) in the consolation game at 6:00 p.m., followed by the championship game between the Bruins and Concordia (4-4) at 8:00 p.m.