PORTLAND, Ore. – Connecting on 13 three-point field goals and shooting 50 percent from the field, the George Fox University Bruins kept it close but eventually succumbed to the NCAA Division I Portland State University Vikings 85-74 in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday night here at PSU's Peter W. Stott Center.
With Seth Brent scoring the Bruins' first seven points on a three-pointer and two layups, George Fox took leads of 3-0, 5-3, and 7-5, only to have the Vikings tie it each time. Jon Adrian's three broke the third tie for the Bruins and they went on to build an 18-11 lead on another trey by Brent with 14:19 left in the half.
The Vikings responded with an 8-0 run on a baseline jumper by Renado Parker and back-to-back threes by Gary Winston to take their first lead of the game, 19-18, with 12:25 left. The Bruins regained the lead on a trey by Sean Atkins, only to have the Viks get a triple of their own by Dre Winston, and the home team eventually built a six-point lead three times over the next three-and-a-half minutes, the last at 35-29 on a three by Michael Harvey with 8:08 to go.
Spencer Bolte sparked an 8-1 George Fox rally with three jumpers in the lane to give the Bruins the lead one more time at 37-36 at the four-minute mark, but the Vikings closed the half with a 12-3 run, Michael Harthun hitting a three and a rebound basket to ignite the outburst. Martin Whitmore's three from the left wing gave the Viks a 48-40 advantage at the break.
Atkins had 11 points and Brent 10 to pace the Bruins in the first half, while Harthun had 13 for the Vikings and Gary Winston nine. Both teams hit eight three-pointers in the half, the Bruins going 8-15 (.533) and the Vikings 8-14 (.571) from beyond the arc.
The Vikings extended the margin to 11 three times early in the second half, the last at 60-49 with 15:50 left in the game on a fast-break dunk by Aaron Moore. The Bruins rallied with eight unanswered points on threes by A.J. Grant and Jason Martin and a layup by Brent that trimmed the deficit to three at 60-57 with 12:50 left. It was still three after another Grant long-distance shot made it 63-60, but Winston started a 9-2 Portland State stretch with a trey and capped it with a steal and layup to make it 72-62 with 8:49 to play.
The Bruins got back within four at 72-68 with 7:07 left on a rebound bucket by Atkins and two driving layups by Anthony Sanchez, but the Vikings hung on by out-scoring the feisty visitors 13-6 the rest of the way. A basket and two free throws by both Parker and Lateef McMullan down the stretch kept the Vikings in front.
George Fox finished with a .500 shooting percentage (28-56), including 13-29 (.448) from downtown, but made only 5-11 (.455) from the line. Portland State shot .492 (29-59), .435 (10-23) from long range, but won the game from the charity stripe as they sank 17-21 (.810). The Bruins edged the Vikings on the boards 32-31, but committed 14 turnovers to only seven for the Viks. George Fox is now 0-5 all-time against Portland State.
Atkins led all scorers with 25 points, including four threes, while Brent added 15 and Sanchez 10. Sanchez also had team highs of seven rebounds and five assists.
Harthun led a balanced Viking attack with 16 points, with Parker adding 15 and McMullan and Gary Winston 14 apiece. Moore just missed a double-double with nine points and nine boards. McMullan handed out eight assists.
NEXT: George Fox (5-4) will be off for the holidays for almost three weeks, returning to action on Friday, Jan. 4, in a Northwest Conference game at Linfield College. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. following a women's game at 6:00 p.m. between the same two schools ... Portland State (2-5) hosts Idaho State University on Thursday at 7:35 p.m. in a Big Sky Conference contest.