Peters registered a career high 21 points and 22 rebounds tonight.
Northwest Edges George Fox
NEWBERG, Ore. - NU got a 21 points, 22 rebound performance from senior Greg Peters as the Eagle defeated George Fox by a slim 86-81 margin tonight in Newberg, Ore.
The Bruins, with seven new players on their roster, hung with the Eagles the entire first half as they took an early 4-0 lead to start the game. NU, on the final day of a 3-day road trip and playing without starting captain, Greg George, couldn't shake the feisty Bruins as twice NU would take five point leads only to see GFU come back to pull to within one point. Greg Peters, stepping into the starting role for George, did his part to keep the Eagles in the lead as he grabbed 11 rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the half, three of them offensive boards. A 3-pointer by Daley Landon would put NU up 29-24 with 4:39 to go, but GFU would go on a 4-0 run to get to within one point, 29-28, at the 4:05 mark. Rich Skillman would lay the ball in with 1:29 left to make it 36-34 but Steven Wisely would lay the ball in for the Bruins to tie the game at 36-all and that's the way the first half would end.
George Fox would take the lead briefly in the second half, 40-36 after four points by Rich Smith, but Tyson Christie's 3-pointer would put NU back up, 43-42, with 16:39 left in the game. A three point play by Peters after an offensive rebound six minutes later would give NU their biggest lead of the half at 69-60. George Fox would then go on a 10-4 run and find themselves within one once again at 71-70 with 3:03 left in the game. NU would have a chance to seal the game away with 27 seconds to go, leading 80-75, but would fail to convert the second shot on two 1-and-1 free throw opportunities. With NU up 82-79 and 11 seconds remaining, Daley Landon would miss his second free throw and GFU's Cole Whitehurst grabbed the rebound and was called for traveling giving the ball back to the Eagles. Landon would then go 4 for 4 the rest of the way as the Bruins were forced to foul.
Peters' double-double (21 points, 22 rebounds) led the way for Northwest U. (4-1). Junior Rich Skillman added 19 points while teammates Jordan Call and Stedman Richardson each dropped in 10 points for the Eagles. NU out rebounded GFU 47-43 with Peters grabbing nearly half the NU total. NU shot 40% for the game and a dismal 59% from the free throw line (19-32).
Center Rich Smith led George Fox (0-2) with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Cole Whitehurst scored 18 points including a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line. Stephen Wisely contributed 11 points for the Bruins who shot 46% on the night and 89.5% (17-19) from the charity stripe.
"After a slow start in the first half, we played with a lot more energy in the second half," stated John Van Dyke, Eagle Head Coach. "We'll hopefully learn from this experience and return home and start much better on Tuesday when we play Walla Walla."