Szalay had a career-high 25 points, including 9-11 from the free throw line, and 10 rebounds, for his 6th career double-double, while Gayman scored 13 and had 11 boards for his 17th career double-double and 2nd this season.
Led by their big guns, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead of 8-1 and eventually stretched their advantage to 15 at 41-26 with 4:05 left in the half on a layup by Philip Heu-Weller. However, the Missionaries went on 17-6 tear to close out the half and trailed only 47-43 at the break. The Bruins hit .731 (19-26) in the first half to maintain their lead while Whitman was sinking .531 (17-32).
George Fox stayed in front throughout the second half as well, raising its lead back to as many as 10 at 57-47 on a Szalay basket with 14:53 remaining. The Missionaries fought back within one point three times thereafter, the last time at 76-75 on a layup by Erik Kofler with 1:20 left. Gayman hit a crucial layup at 1:04 for the final margin, and the Missionaries missed potential game-tying three-pointers by Ian Warner and Matt Kelly in the final five seconds.
In addition to the big nights by Szalay and Gayman, Aaron Schmick nailed 7-9 from the field and scored 15 points. Brent Satern passed out 3 assists. The Bruins finished with a .588 shooting percentage (30-51) and canned 15-22 free throws while Whitman got only 5-11 from the stripe.
Kelly topped the home team with 19 points, Warner and Kofler scored 11 apiece, and Kyle Born added 10. Born also led the Missionaries, who held a slight 35-34 edge on the boards, with 9 rebounds, while Greg Ricker, Mike Peterson, and Kelly all had 3 assists each.
George Fox is now 5-4 overall and Whitman is 2-7. The Bruins are at Whitworth College in Spokane Saturday night while Whitman hosts Linfield College, both at 8:00 p.m. following women’s contests at 6:00 p.m.