Box Score

NEWBERG, Ore. – The return of both Colin Wester (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.) and Dustin Bowser (Jr., Bellingham, Wash.) did little to neutralize a red hot shooting night for George Fox as the Bruins rolled to a 79-66 victory in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Wheeler Sports Center.
 
The two players, sidelined by injuries, came off the bench in an attempt to give the Pacific offense some needed spark.  Wester had missed the last three games with a rolled ankle, while Bowser missed four games with a broken hand.
 
Their return was not enough to stop a hot shooting night for the Bruins (11-10, 8-4 NWC), who connected on 50.9 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three-point range.  George Fox also made 17 of 21 free throws, including their first 13 of the contest.
 
Mike Taylor led all scorers with 23 points, which included five three-pointers in the first five minutes of the game that put the game out of reach early.  Anthony Sanchez added 18 points and Sean Atkins scored 15.
 
Charles Mosley (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds to lead the Boxers (8-12, 2-9 NWC).  Wester added 12 points in his return.  Pacific finished the night shooting a respectable 41.7 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Bearcats (3-2, 1-1 NWC) scored six touchdowns in the first half to secure the rout and did most of their damage on the ground, running for 357 yards and six scores.  Willamette also went 8 of 13 on third-down conversions, including a number that came on big passing plays in the opening half.
 
George Fox never trailed in the contest, thanks to the hot hand of Taylor and his five three-pointers to open the contest.  The fifth of the string at the 15:48 mark opened up a 19-7 Bruins' lead.  Coby Proctor (Fr., Sublimity, Ore.) and Mosley cut the lead to 19-12 before Jon Adrian's trey started a 13-2 run over the next four minutes.  Sean Atkins closed the streak with 9:54 left to make it a 32-14 lead.
 
A lay-up by Marc Eppinger (Fr., Camas, Wash.) and a Wester three-pointer brought Pacific back within 32-19 with 6:54 left, but the Bruins kept hot to take a 40-25 lead into halftime.
 
Pacific came out to start the second half strong, but the Bruins did not cool off.  Sanchez's lay-in three minutes into the period made the George Fox lead 19 points and a lay-in by Adrian with 15:14 left made it a 54-33 game.  Pacific managed to cut the lead to 15 points when Eppinger's jumper made it 56-41 with 12:12 left.  Atkins responded on the next possession with a lay-in to start an 11-2 run that gave the Bruins their largest lead of the game, 67-43, with 9:16 remaining.
 
Joey Burns (Fr., Hermiston, Ore.) brought the deficit under 20 points when his lay-in with 5:47 left made it a 72-54 game.  Pacific outscored George Fox 16-6 over the final seven minutes of the game, with Trenton Dixon's (Fr., North Powder, Ore.) free throw with seven seconds left reduced the margin to 13 points.
 
After three consecutive games on the road, Pacific looks forward to play four of their final five games of the 2011-12 season at the Stoller Center.  The Boxers open the run tomorrow night as they host Willamette at 8 p.m.  It is Spirit Night, and fans are encouraged to wear black to the game as we try to "black out" the Stoller Center.  The game can be heard via live webcast at www.goboxers.com/webcasts.  George Fox is off until next Friday when they play at Puget Sound.