Late First Half Run Puts Bruins Past Boxers
Box Score
NEWBERG, Ore. – George Fox broke open a close game in the final three minutes of the first half Saturday night, building a nine-point lead at the break en-route to a 71-64 victory over Pacific in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Wheeler Sports Center.
Neither team led by more than five points for most of the period and Pacific (3-10, 2-2 NWC) owned a three-point lead with 3:58 left in the stanza, but the Bruins closed it with a 12-0 run to take a 42-33 halftime lead. George Fox built as much as an 11-point lead early in the second half and held off a pair of spirited Pacific rallies to take the win.
LeMar Anglin (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) led the Boxers with another strong night, scoring 20 points on 7 of 12 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Carson Bartlett (Jr., St. Helens, Ore.) added 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting and Colin Wester (So., Sherwood, Ore.) scored 11. The Boxers shot 45.5 percent from the field (25-55) and 11 of 15 from the free throw line for the game.
Stephen Wiseley led George Fox (4-9, 2-2 NWC) with 25 points as he connected on 10 of 14 from the field with five three-pointers. Rich Smith scored 15 points while Mike Taylor turned in a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. George Fox shot 49.1 percent from the field (27-55) and 10 of 27 from three-point range while out-rebounding the Boxers 34-31.
The first half proved to be a close battle, with neither team building more than a three-point advantage until the Bruins went up 26-21 on a Taylor jumper at the 8-minute mark. Four straight free throws by Anglin reduced the advantage to three and the Boxers took back the lead on a Bartlett jumper with 6:12 left.
The Pacific lead was still one with 3:18 left when Jon Adrian sunk a jumper that sparked a 12-0 George Fox to close the half. The Bruins allowed just two Boxers' shot attempts in the stretch as Wiseley's lay-up with 59 seconds left gave the home team the 42-33 halftime lead.
George Fox started the second half by building their biggest lead of 11 points, 44-33, on a Cole Whitehurst basket in the first minute. The Bruins would reach that plateau four more times over the course of the half, successfully holding down a number of Pacific comeback attempts. George Fox led 50-39 when lay-ins by Wester and Anglin keyed an 11-0 run, which culminated on an Aglin three-point play that brought Pacific within 52-50 midway through the stanza.
The Bruins responded with a 12-4 run of their own, running the lead back to 10 on a Smith lay-in with 4:25 to go. George Fox was ahead 11 with 59 seconds left when a pair of quick scoring possessions, including a three-point play by Phil Stanford (So., Seattle, Wash.) and free throws by Anglin and Adam McElwee (So., Woodinville, Wash.), allowed the Boxers within five points with 25 seconds left. Two made free throws by Taylor and a pair of missed three-pointers by Pacific closed the game in favor of the Bruins.
Pacific returns home next weekend for a pair of NWC tilts, hosting Linfield on Friday and Lewis & Clark on Saturday. Game time both nights is 8 p.m.
