Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Charles Mosley's (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) turned in his second-best offensive performance of the season Saturday night, but it was not enough to hold back a big night for George Fox as the Bruins opened the second half of the Northwest Conference men's basketball season with an 85-76 victory over the Boxers at the Stoller Center.
 
Mosley scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the first half and finished the night connecting on 8 of 17 from the field to go along with seven rebounds.  The Bruins, however, turned in a stronger offensive night then they did in their first meeting with the Boxers on Tuesday, shooting 51.7 percent from the field (30-58), with eight three pointers, and 85 percent from the free throw line.
 
Pacific (11-7, 5-4 NWC) also had a solid night offensively, shooting 46.4 percent from the field (32-69) and 77.8 percent from the free throw line.  In addition to Mosley, three other Boxers finished in double figures.  Andrew Beatty (Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.) contributed 13 points, Dustin Bowser (Sr., Bellingham, Wash.) added 12 and Colin Wester (Sr., Sherwood, Ore.) finished with 11.
 
Sean Atkins led all scorers with 22 points for the Bruins (10-8, 6-4 NWC), connecting on 7 of 13 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line.  Jason Martin added 16 points, A.J. Grant scored 15 and Anthony Sanchez scored 11.  Seth Brent finished the night with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
 
The scoring was fast and furious over the opening nine minutes of the contest.  By the time of the first media timeout at the 10:57 mark, George Fox owned a 25-22 lead and had shot 76 percent from the field.  Pacific kept pace, shooting 56 percent thanks in part to six points from Mosley.
 
The Bruins opened up the 30-24 lead on Martin's three-point play with 9:13 left, but the Boxers kept pace to keep the game close.  Mosley tied the contest with his short-range shot with 4:55 left and Cameron Hayes (Jr., Milton, Wash.) gave Pacific their first lead, 34-32 with his jumper with four minutes to go.  Martin scored the final seven points of the stanza for the Bruins and gave his team a 39-34 lead at the half.
 
George Fox did their part to build a cushion early in the second half, extended their lead to 54-44 on another Martin three-point play at the 14:38 mark.  The Boxers came right back to cut the edge to five on Daniel Zitani's (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) three-pointer and a pair of Beatty free throws with 11:49 left brought the Boxers back within four, 60-56.
 
The Bruins were not phased, building their lead back to 71-62 on Grant's three-pointer with 6:19 left, but Wester replied with a trey of his own to start an 11-4 run, culminating on Danny Brakebush's (Fr., Portland, Ore.) lay-in with 3:22 left that brought Pacific within 75-73.  The Bruins went on to outscore the Boxers 10-3 over the final three minutes as Pacific went 0 for 6 from the field in the stretch.
 
Pacific will now look ahead to the challenging eastern Washington trip.  The Boxers play at Whitman on Friday and Whitworth on Saturday.  Tip-off both nights is scheduled for 8 p.m.  Both games will be aired live via a webcast at goboxers.com.  George Fox is back in action on Tuesday as they play at Division I Portland State.