NEWBERG, Ore. – Anthony Sanchez poured in a game-high 26 points, but he and his George Fox University teammates were unable to keep Pacific University off the offensive boards enough as the Bruins dropped a 77-69 Northwest Conference men's basketball decision to the visiting Boxers Tuesday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
The Bruins saw their overall record slide to 9-7 overall as their three-game winning streak was snapped and to 5-3 in the conference, dead-even with Lewis & Clark College and Willamette University for second place midway through the league slate and three full games behind runaway leader Whitworth University. Pacific improved to 10-6 overall and 4-3 in the NWC.
After four early ties, the Bruins broke a 12-12 deadlock on a layup by Sanchez, followed by driving baskets by Jon Adrian and Spencer Bolte for an 18-12 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half. A Bolte jumper made it 22-16 with 7:29 left, but the Boxers scored six in a row on a putback by Dustin Bowser and two buckets by Daniel Zitani to make it 22-22 with 4:50 to go.
Sean Atkins' free throw put the Bruins back ahead, but Mitch Wettig nailed a three-pointer as the Boxers took their first lead since the fourth minute of the game. A three-point play by Atkins made it 26-25 George Fox with 3:48 left, but the Boxers ripped off eight unanswered points on a jumper by Wester and back-to-back threes by Wettig and Danny Brakebush for a 33-26 advantage with 1:13 to play. Two clutch threes by A.J. Grant, the last at the buzzer, drew the Bruins within one at the break, 33-32.
The first-half stats were relatively even - the Boxers had 14 field goals and five threes, the Bruins 12 field goals and four threes, George Fox led in free throws 4-0, and each team had six turnovers - but the visitors held a decided rebound advantage of 23-14, nine of them by Bowser alone. Thirteen of the Boxers' boards came on the offensive end, only one less that the Bruins' total for the half. Grant and Wettig led their respective teams with nine points each in the opening period.
Wester opened the second half with a layup, but the Bruins tied it on another three by Grant, then went ahead 40-35 on layups by Sanchez and Seth Brent around an Atkins free throw. Pacific scored six straight on two free throws and a jumper by Wester and a layup by Wettig, only have the Bruins score six in a row on two Brent layups and a jumper by Atkins for a 46-41 lead with 13:09 remaining. A three-point play by Bowser and a Charles Mosley layup knotted it 46-46, and the ninth tie of the game came at 51-51 on a Sanchez three with 9:12 to go.
The Boxers went ahead for good on a three-point play by Zitani at 8:42, starting a 12-2 run that featured two threes by Brakebush and made it 63-53 Pacific with 5:04 to play. The Bruins three times climbed within five points in the final two-and-a-half-minutes, but the Boxers responded each time, twice on baskets by Wester and once on a Coby Proctor layup, to keep the Bruins at bay. Pacific hit 6-of-6 from the line in the final 16 seconds, two each by Wester, Zitani, and Andrew Beatty, to seal the road win.
Sanchez hit 11-of-16 from the field with a trio of threes and a free throw for his big game, while Brent added 14 and Grant 12, all on threes. Atkins, the No. 2 scorer in the conference at 17 points a game, was held under 10 points for the first time all season, finishing with nine. Brent had eight rebounds, Adrian handed out five assists, and Atkins made three steals.
Wester led a quintet of Boxers in double figures with 20 points, 14 in the second half, with Brakebush adding 15 points, all on threes. Bowser had 11 points and 11 boards and Wettig had 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Boxers owned the glass 42-33. Zitani chipped in with 11 points as well. Wester passed out three assists, and Beatty made two steals.
NEXT: George Fox concludes a six-game home stand Friday against Lewis & Clark while Pacific visits Willamette, both games starting at 8:00 p.m. following NWC women's games at 6:00 p.m.