As the UW-Superior men's basketball team opened play at the D3hoops.com Classic Friday evening, there was little doubt the Yellowjackets would be tested.  After all, not only had the George Fox Bruins won seven of their first eight games of the season, they had done so while averaging 94 points per contest.

As it turned out, all that offensive firepower proved to be too much for the Yellowjackets as the Bruins forced 25 turnovers and got 54 combined points from A.J. Grant and Spencer Bolte on the way to pulling away for a 100-81 win in Las Vegas, Nev.

The loss, which came despite a 34-point, 13-rebound effort from Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata), dropped the Yellowjackets to 4-6 on the season while the Bruins improved to 8-1 with the victory.

George Fox got off to an early lead in the first half, as consecutive three-point shots from Sean Atkins and Bolte got the Bruins off to a 6-0 lead just 21 seconds into game action.

A three-point play by Brian Lindblom (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) and a layup from Peterson brought the Yellowjackets to within 6-5 with 18:19 remaining in the first half before a jumper by Aaron Corry (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) gave UW-Superior their first lead of the contest at 7-6 at the 17:00 mark.

Peterson and A.J. Grant then traded three-point shots to make it a 10-10 game with 15:25 showing on the clock.

The Bruins went on to outscore the Yellowjackets 21-5 over the next 4:30 for a 31-15 bulge after Jonny Howard's three-pointer with 10:55 left in the opening half.

UW-Superior gradually fought their way back, getting six points from Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) along with scores from Peterson and Corry to come to within 41-38 with 4:18 remaining on the clock.

George Fox again responded with a 14-5 run over the final four minutes for a 55-43 lead at the intermission.

The Yellowjackets rallied to start the second half, getting layups from Peterson, Corry and Byrne to cut the deficit to 57-51 with 17:02 left in regulation.

UW-Superior continued to hang around for the next 10:54, cutting a 75-59 George Fox lead with 10:22 left down to 81-74 on a driving layup by Johnathon Scott with 6:16 showing on the clock.

But the Bruins surged away to seal matters from there, getting a three-pointer from Grant at the 6:00 mark to up the lead to 86-76. 

The Yellowjackets would never get within 10 points the rest of the way as George Fox took a 94-76 lead on a layup by Grant with 3:56 remaining in the game.

Peterson went 12-of-18 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line in scoring his game-high 34 points. Byrne meanwhile finished with 15 points while Corry pitched in with 13 points for the Yellowjackets.

George Fox was led by Grant's 28 points while Bolte finished with 26. Atkins meanwhile finished with 13 points with Howard adding 10 more for the Bruins.

The Yellowjackets close out the D3hoops.com Classic tomorrow against Whitman College.  Opening tipoff from Las Vegas is scheduled for 10 p.m. central time.