NEWBERG, Ore. – George Fox held Pacific Lutheran scoreless for the final six minutes of play as the Bruins pulled away to a 78-60 win in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Saturday night at Wheeler Sports Center.
Pacific Lutheran falls to 7-12 overall and 4-6 in conference play as the Lutes' three-game win streak comes to an end. George Fox improves to 13-6 overall and 6-4 in the NWC as the teams split the season series with one win apiece. The Lutes host Whitman in their next game, taking on the Missionaries at 8 p.m. on Friday at Names Family Court.
Brandon Lester continued his recent hot streak, hitting four of his nine three-point attempts to post 16 points in his fifth straight game with at least 13. Daniel Landram added 14 points for the Lutes, and Arvid Isaksen scored seven points and grabbed 10 a game-high 10 rebounds. The Lutes shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, but PLU missed its final six shots and turned the ball over five times in the final six minutes.
On the other side, George Fox made a pair of three-pointers and all six of its free throws during that stretch to turn a six-point lead into an 18-point advantage at the buzzer. Sean Atkins scored 23 points, making 12 of 13 free throws, while Spencer Bolte and AJ Grant each tallied 17 points. The Bruins finished the game with a .472 overall shooting percentage (25-of-53) and an 84-percent mark from the free throw line (21-of-25).
It was a back-and-forth first half, as the opening period featured five tie scores and six lead changes. George Fox led early, but PLU tied it up on a Terrell Williams jumper just over six minutes into the game. The Lutes led by as many as six points in the period, but the Bruins scored six straight to tie it up at 31-31 with 3:02 to go before the break. From there the hosts closed out the period on a 9-4 run to end the half with a 40-35 lead.
George Fox pushed its lead up to 11 points early in the second period, but the Lutes used a pair of three-pointers by Erik Swartout and another by Lester to pull as close as five points back with nine minutes to play. After George Fox took a 66-56 lead with 8:01 to go, back-to-back buckets by Miller once again got PLU within six points at 66-60 with 6:35 to play. Unfortunately for the Lutes, that proved to be their final basket of the game as George Fox scored the final 12 points of the game.
