NEWBERG, Ore.- The Pacific University men's basketball team fell in a contest to George Fox 71-69. The game was closely fought throughout with seven lead changes spread out throughout all 40 minutes. The Bruins and the Boxers both struggled to get the lid off of the basket from deep as the teams combine to shoot 4-40 from long range.
 
The Boxers got off to an ideal start with the first two possessions as they scored off of the opening tip. On the ensuing inbounds, Mario Mora (Senior/Bend, OR) stole the ball and knocked down the shot from long range to take a 5-0 lead. The three from Mora would turn out to be the only shot from deep that would fall for the Boxers on the night. The Bruins would respond with their own 9-0 run over next minute and forty-six seconds to gain the early advantage and what looked like the start of a high scoring contest from both sides. Following a layup from Isaiah Africano (Junior/Pearl City, HI) that put the Boxers up 17-13, neither team would score for the next two minutes and forty-six seconds before the scoring drought coming to an end with a Boxer layup pushing the lead to six. The remainder of the first half would be played fairly even from both sides with the Boxers taking a 37-34 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Boxers and Bruins would trade buckets in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Bruins were able to take a five-point lead with 9:14 left to play following a three-pointer. The Boxers would go into the under eight media timeout with momentum following a Jacob Bolger (Junior/Portland, OR) dunk set up by a nice pass from Mora. The Boxers and Bruins would again trade baskets until the one-minute mark when Bolger converted a layup to even the score at 69. On the ensuing position following a timeout, the Bruins looked as though they had drawn up a play that produced an open shot, however Bolger would say otherwise as he was able to record a block that sent the ball into the Bruin crowd. Following the inbound, Bolger again came across the paint blocking a layup attempt off the glass that would keep the game tied. The Bruins would force a Boxer turnover and score a layup with one second left on the clock to secure the victory.
 
By The Numbers

• Bolger led the Boxers in points with 17, rebounds with 8 and blocks with 5
• The Boxers recorded 13 offensive rebounds
• The Boxers led for 22 minutes in the contest

 
Up Next
The Boxers will look to pick up their first NWC win tomorrow night (Dec. 4^th) in a home matchup against Pacific Lutheran with a scheduled tipoff set for 6 P.M.
 
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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