NEWBERG, Ore. – Anthony Gittens had a dominating, 29-point, eight-rebound performance but the Puget Sound men's basketball team fell 86-80 at George Fox on Saturday. The 18th-ranked Loggers (11-4, 3-3 NWC) trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half and nearly completed a furious comeback before eventually falling by six points.
Gittens had a career night in the paint using his obvious size advantage. Gittens was 10-of-11 from the floor as he constantly found his way to the rim. He was also 9-of-14 from the free throw line for a career-high 29 points.
Despite Gittens dominating performance, George Fox caught fire in the first half. The Bruins (7-8, 4-2 NWC) shot 65 percent in the first half, including a 9-for-15 performance from beyond the three-point arc. Their hot shooting keyed a 47-29 lead at halftime.
The Bruins stayed hot through the half and their lead reached as much as 21 points when Anthony Sanchez's three-pointer gave them a 62-41 lead with 14:57 remaining.
With 9:18 remaining, the Bruins still led by 19 points at 72-53. Gittens put back on the next trip down the floor sparked a 13-0 run that cut the lead to six. Rigg Yarbro's layup made the score 72-66 with 4:57 left.
Mike Taylor's free throws put the lead back to 10 for the Bruins with just over two minutes left. Taylor finished with a team-high 25 points for the Bruins. Sanchez added 20 points to help key the upset. Five of the six Bruins that recorded a point scored in double figures.
The Loggers would score on their next three trips down the floor on layups from Gittens and Rex Holmes as well as a three-pointer from Ryan Rogers that cut the lead down to 79-75.
Holmes was 5-of-7 on the night for 16 points and Rogers finished with 13 points.
Sanchez pushed the lead back to six for the Bruins and the Loggers came up empty on their next trip. After a Jon Adrian free throw, Rogers hit another three-pointer to cut the lead to four. AJ Grant hit one-of-two free throws to push the lead back to 83-78 and a Rogers layup with 26 seconds left made it a one possession game for the first time in the second half.
Sanchez hit two more free throws for the Bruins just seconds later and the Bruins were able to thwart the comeback and keep the Loggers off the board the rest of the way to hold on for the win.
The Loggers return home next week to host Linfield on Friday night at 8 p.m.x