Gardner leads George Fox to Division-III final four

The Sandy Post, Mar 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Hope connected on only 22 percent of its shots and went a meager 2 for 13 (.154) from a 3-point range, including four straight misses to seal its fate in the final minutes.

The win avenged the Bruins’ Sweet 16 loss to Hope last season.

George Fox, the only unbeaten team left, will take on the College of New Jersey (27-4) in a national semifinal game Friday, March 20. The Lions defeated Scranton 54-48 last weekend.

“It’s in the back of your head early in the season (advancing to the final four), but I don’t think any of us were prepared for this,” Gardner said. “To think we are actually headed to Michigan and are this close to a national championship is an amazing feeling. We just are going to go out and battle and try and finish this amazing season with a title.”

The other semifinal matches No. 6 Washington-St. Louis against No. 11 Amherst. The Washington squad is coming off a 58-53 win over top-ranked Illinois-Wesleyan and is making its eighth Final Four appearance. This is the first time any of the other three teams have reached this level of the playoffs.

“To think we could lose all five starters from last year’s very good team, take a bunch of freshmen and only four returning players, and go to the Final Four would have been almost too much to believe,” Bruins’ coach Scott Rueck said.