With the win, the Bruins improved to 15-6 overall and 10-2 in the conference, while the Wildcats fell to 10-10 overall and 6-5 in the league. George Fox trails 7th-ranked Puget Sound, 11-1 in the NWC, by a game, and with every other team in the conference having at least 4 losses, it is pretty much a two-team race. The Bruins already have a 68-66 win over the Loggers at home, so another George Fox win over UPS would give the Bruins the tie-breaker in head-to-head competition if the race ends dead-even. A UPS win would put the Loggers two games ahead with three left.
After Linfield scored the first bucket of the game, the Bruins darted to an 15-8 advantage as Aaron Schmick connected on a pair of three-pointers to begin the game. The Wildcats closed the gap to two, 29-27, on Blake Shelton's jumper with 5:47 left in the period. GFU led 37-33 at intermission behind Schmick's 10 first-half points. Chris Lewis had 14 at the break for the Wildcats, connecting on 6-10 from the field.
George Fox outscored the Wildcats 13-8 to start the second half and led by nine, 50-41, following Mark Gayman's banker off the glass. The Bruins maintained a lead throughout the second half but could never shake the persistent Wildcats. Trailing 78-75 with less than a minute remaining, Casey Kushiyama tied the game for Linfield with a high-arching three from the left corner, sending the crowd of some 1,500 into a frenzy. The Bruins had the ball with 35 seconds left, but Scott Szalay's lay-in and tip as time expired bounced out.
In overtime, Ryan Monagle gave Linfield its first lead since the opening minute with a basket, but Brent Satern tied it with a runner in the lane. Free throws by Gayman and Heu-Weller put GFU on top 84-80, but Shelton made two at the other end and Wells added another to narrow the margin to one. Gayman hit two more free throws and Schmick 4-4 in the final 40 seconds to seal the victory.
Four Bruins scored in double figures, led by Gayman's 24 points and 10 rebounds, his 23rd career double-double and 8th of the season. Schmick added 19 points, Philip Heu-Weller had 13, and Satern scored 10. Szalay had a game-high 14 rebounds as the Bruins controlled the backboards 49-41. Gayman and Schmick had 3 assists apiece, while Schmick had 4 steals. The Bruins shot only .388 (26-67) from the field, but made up for it with deadly accuracy at the line, making .906 (29-32).
Lewis had a career-high 29 points to lead Linfield, while Shelton added 26 and Kushiyama 11. Joe Wells was the top Wildcat on the boards with 10. Shelton and Kushiyama had 5 assists each, and Kushiyama made 7 steals. The Wildcats played their third game without center Sam Kreiger, their second-leading scorer, who suffered a serious knee injury during practice 10 days ago and is lost for the season.
After meeting Puget Sound Friday in Tacoma, the Bruins travel across town to face Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday. Linfield travels to Salem Tuesday for a match-up with the Willamette University Bearcats. All men’s games are at 8:00 p.m., following women’s games at 6:00 p.m.