Feb. 1, 2008

Smith’s Basket Lifts Pacific Lutheran Past George Fox in Overtime

Box Score

Gabe Smith - wins it in OT

Josh Dressler - 1,000-point club

PARKLAND, Wash. – In a Northwest Conference men’s basketball game that offered a little bit of everything to a crowd estimated at 650, Gabe Smith hit a three-point shot from deep in the right corner with 3.4 seconds left to give Pacific Lutheran a 79-76 overtime victory over the visiting George Fox Bruins on Friday night in Olson Auditorium.

Smith’s shot culminated a game that saw Pacific Lutheran (9-8 overall, 5-4 NWC) lead by as much as 22 points in the first half before Brent Satern led a furious George Fox rally that resulted in a 70-70 tie at the end of regulation.

After the Bruins (5-13 overall, 1-8 NWC) took a 75-72 lead with 2:09 remaining in the overtime, Jared Brandeberry hit a jumper and two free throws to put the Lutes on top, 76-75, with 49 seconds remaining. Bryan O’Connell hit the second of two free throws with 33 seconds left to tie the game at 76, leading to Smith’s heroics. Landon Heidenreich penetrated down the right side of the lane and dished to Smith, whose long shot hit nothing but net. A final half-court desperation heave by Satern came up short, and the Lutes had the victory.

Pacific Lutheran scored the game’s first nine points and held a 16-11 lead when they scored 19 of the game’s next 21 points to open a 35-13 lead. Gregory Bogdan’s three-point shot capped the run and came with 6:13 left in the half.

George Fox came back with its own 10-0 run to get back into the game and the Lutes settled for a 38-25 lead at the intermission. At that point, PLU’s Scott McDaniels had scored 11 of his game-high 21 points.

Satern hit a trio of three-point shots to lead the Bruins’ second half comeback. The visitors tied the score at 60-60 on Satern’s layup with 6:01 remaining in the second half, and they took their first lead of the game, 63-30, on Dan Lingenfelder’s three-point shot from the right wing with 4:37 to play.

Pacific Lutheran was able to push out to a 70-66 lead with 47 seconds left, but Satern hit four straight free throws down the stretch while the Lutes turned the ball over and missed a final shot at the end of regulation.

McDaniels led the Lutes with 21 points and he added eight rebounds before fouling out in the closing seconds of regulation. Brandeberry added 20 points for the Lutes. Josh Dressler scored eight points, but more importantly he became the 21st player in PLU men’s basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark when he scored a basket with 11:37 left in the opening half.

Evan Atwater poured in 20 points for the Bruins, who also got 17 from Satern and 14 from O’Connell. Atwater led George Fox with six rebounds, and the Bruins finished with a 37-36 rebounding advantage over PLU.

- PLU -