Box Score

KIRKLAND, Wash. - Breaking open a close game with 16 unanswered points late in the first half, the Northwest University Eagles, who reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament last year, pulled away from the George Fox University Bruins and soared to a 63-50 win in a non-conference men's basketball game here Wednesday night.

George Fox jumped out 5-0 on a jumper by Taylor Martin and a three-pointer by Evan Atwater, and took an 8-2 advantage on another trey by Atwater. Northwest battled back with a 10-2 run, capped by a Greg Peters basket, to take its first lead of 12-10 with 15:46 left in the half, and the game stayed tight over the next 10 minutes. Matt Noble scored with eight minutes remaining for the Bruins' final lead of 17-15, but the Eagles then took off, scoring 16 points in a row, with five different players contributing, for a comfortable 31-17 lead with 27 seconds left. A three by Travis Toedtemier broke the string and made it 31-20 Northwest at the half.

The Eagles kept a double-digit lead for most of the second half, though the Bruins did cut the deficit to seven points at 47-40 with 8:49 left on a basket by Joe Ahn. Northwest regained control with eight points in a row at that point, and twice built 17-point leads in cruising to the end.

The Bruins were paced by a pair of sophomores, Atwater finishing with 11 points to lead the team for the third straight game and Bryan O'Connell adding 10 for the first double-figure game of his career. Mark Metzler grabbed seven rebounds and Brent Satern handed out six assists. The Bruins struggled with their shots most of the evening, hitting only .362 (21-58) from the field, .188 (3-16) from three-point range, and .417 (5-12) from the free throw line.

Greg George led the Eagles with 17 points and Eddie Coulson had 15. Pat Mattson pulled down nine rebounds as the Eagles controlled the boards 42-35. Coulson also had six assists. Northwest fared a little better than the Bruins offensively, hitting .429 (24-56) from the field, .143 (2-14) from behind the arc, and .619 (13-21) from the line.

George Fox (1-2) is off until Dec. 4 when the Bruins host Corban College in their home opener at 7:30 p.m. Northwest (4-3) goes to Western Washington University Friday for a 7:00 p.m. non-counting exhibition game.