PARKLAND, Wash. – Four George Fox University players scored in double figures, but the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes held the high-scoring Bruins over 30 points below their season scoring average and pulled away late for a 72-64 Northwest Conference men's basketball victory Friday night here at Names Family Court.
George Fox entered the game with a points-per-game average of 94.2, among the top 10 in the nation, but could not get anything going offensively against PLU. Sean Atkins had 15 points, A.J. Grant and Seth Brent 14 each, and Spencer Bolte 11 for the Bruins, but it was not enough to offset a 28-point performance by the Lutes' Arvid Isaksen. Terrell Williams added 10 for PLU.
Both teams went scoreless for over three-and-a-half minutes to start the game, PLU finally getting on the board at 16:26 on a layup by Kai Hoyt. Baskets by Bryce Miller and Isaksen gave the Lutes a 6-0 lead before Bolte hit a jumper at 14:33 to get the Bruins going.
PLU stayed in front throughout the first half and took a double-digit lead on another Hoyt layin with 11:22 left in the period. Following another Bolte basket, the Lutes' lead wavered between five and nine points for most of the half. The Bruins scored the final six points, all by Atkins on two layups and a jumper, to trail by only one at the intermission, 30-29.
A Seth Brent layup six seconds into the second period gave George Fox its first lead of the game, and after a Hoyt layup, the Bruins scored nine in a row to build a 40-32 lead with 17:12 to go. Bolte had a layup and two free throws and Grant nailed a three-pointer and a driving basket in the rally. The Lutes fought back and regained a lead of 48-47 on a Williams three with 11:31 left, and the game seesawed back and forth over the next seven minutes, with four lead changes and four ties during that span.
George Fox took its last lead of 58-56 on a pair of Bolte charity tosses with 5:09 remaining, but Isaksen knotted it with two free throws at 4:45. Andrew Alness gave the Lutes the lead for good with a jumper at 4:20, and Isaksen added a layup and two free throws as PLU forged a 64-58 advantage with 2:44 left. Grant and Alness traded baskets before Atkins hit a three to make it a one-possession game at 66-63 with two minutes to play, but a layup by Daniel Landram and two free throws each by Williams and Isaksen kept the Bruins from any comeback.
Despite a 5-7 game by Brent and 6-11 for Grant from the floor, the Bruins finished with a .377 shooting percentage (23-61), their second-lowest mark of the season. They were only .188 (6-32) from three-point range, usually a strength, and were out-rebounded 46-24, which offset a 21-9 advantage in turnovers.
Grant, Brent, Atkins and Bolte led the Bruins with four rebounds apiece. Grant handed out three assists and made five of the Bruins' 13 steals. Jason Martin blocked a pair of PLU shots.
Isaksen had a double-double with 10 rebounds for Pacific Lutheran, and Miller also hauled in 10 off the glass while passing out six assists. Isaksen and Brandon Lester made two steals each.
With the loss, George Fox slipped to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Pacific Lutheran, which snapped a five-game losing streak, improved to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in the NWC.
NEXT: George Fox visits Lewis & Clark College next Friday at 8:00 p.m. in a matchup of the top two scoring teams in the conference. The men's game will be preceded by the GFU-L&C women's game at 6:00 p.m. … Pacific Lutheran hosts Lewis & Clark Saturday at 8:00 p.m. as part of another NWC twinbill.