NEWBERG, Ore. – Senior wing Kyle MacTaggart burned host George Fox with two last-minute layups Friday night, giving the Pacific Lutheran Lutes a 60-58 Northwest Conference men's basketball win at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
With its fourth straight conference road victory PLU improved to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in the conference, one game out of second place.
The Bruins hit 13-for-13 (1.000) from the line against PLU, breaking the old school record of 12-for-12 set on Jan. 24, 2003. In a bizarre twist to the stats, the Bruins had entered the game with the lowest free throw percentage in the conference (.649), which had proven costly to them in several close games.
This time, however, it was an inability to stop MacTaggart's two late drives that doomed the home team to another loss. The game-winning basket also pushed MacTaggart to 1,001 career points, making him the 22nd player in Pacific Lutheran men's basketball history to pass the 1,000-point barrier.
The game was closely contested throughout with 11 ties, seven lead changes, and never a double-digit lead by either team. After an early two-point George Fox lead and two ties, the Lutes broke a 4-4 tie on a layup and free throw by Cameron Schilling and held the lead for over 10 minutes. Andrew Earnest's layup with 10:37 left gave the Lutes a 15-8 lead, but the Bruins put together a 9-0 run, taking a 17-15 lead on a three-pointer by Stephen Wiseley with 8:15 to go.
George Fox maintained a slim edge for the next five minutes, but a long-range three by Earnest enabled the Lutes to regain the advantage 27-25. After a Mike Taylor jumper tied it for the Bruins, the Lutes got three-pointers by Earnest, who had 10 first-half points, and Tony Polis around a layup by Victor Bull to take a 35-27 halftime lead.
The Bruins got back into the game by scoring the first seven points of the second half on a dunk by Cole Whitehurst, a three-point play by Rich Smith, and two Taylor free tosses. After a Schilling layup, Smith sank back-to-back baskets and Taylor added a layup for a 40-37 George Fox lead at the 15:39 mark.
The home team extended the margin to six at 47-41 on a three by Wiseley with 8:35 to play, only to see the Lutes go on an 8-0 run, capped by a Kole Podowicz jumper, to move ahead 49-47 with 6:09 left. Taylor tied it with a layup, then Podowicz and Taylor swapped threes before MacTaggart broke the 52-52 deadlock with two free throws at 3:47. Smith tied it with a putback of his own miss at 2:46, and Wiseley gave the Bruins the lead with two free throws at 2:08.
Curtis Trondsen knotted it again with a baseline jumper for PLU, but Taylor's running jumper in the lane made it 58-56 Bruins with 1:02 showing. MacTaggart's wide-open layup off a screen tied it with 49 seconds left, and after a costly Bruin turnover with 22 seconds remaining, MacTaggart again drove for a layup with eight ticks left, providing the game-winner when the Bruins missed two close-in shots as time expired.
Earnest, a .500 percent three-point shooter, was the only Lute in double digits with 15 points, including a trio of treys. Schilling had nine points to go with a team-high eight rebounds. Earnest also contributed three steals and two assists. GFU's Taylor led all scorers with 19 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds for the Bruins, while Wiseley scored 12 points with six assists and Smith added 11 points. Whitehurst had a game-high 10 rebounds as the Bruins held a 40-32 advantage on the glass.
PLU is back in action again Saturday night when it plays the Pacific Boxers in Forest Grove, Ore.
(Courtesy of George Fox Sports Information Office.)
