NEWBERG, Ore. - In a Jekyll-and-Hyde contest that saw each team with one great shooting half and one poor one, the George Fox University Bruins put six players in double figures in scoring and hung on for an 80-68 win over the Pacific University Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball Monday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

George Fox scorched the nets for a .720 percentage (18-25) while building as much as a 20-point lead in the first half while Pacific struggled to a .367 mark (11-30).  The shooting situation completely flip-flopped in the second half as the Boxers hit 11 of their first 17 shots and climbed within three points of the Bruins at one point before finishing at .600 (15-25) in the period, while the Bruins missed 12 of 16 tries to begin the final half but eventually recovered to finish with a .370 percentage (10-27), which was enough for the win.

The game began as a tight, back-and-forth affair, with three ties and nine lead changes in the first nine minutes.  Jonathan Jury's steal and layup with 11:29 to go in the opening half gave Pacific its final lead of 16-15, but Stephen Wiseley hit two free throws 13 seconds later to put the Bruins ahead and they never trailed again.  The Bruins tacked on 12 more unanswered points over the next three minutes for a 29-16 advantage with 8:25 left, and they hit the 20-point bulge for the first time with four minutes to go on a pair of Evan Atwater free throws that made it 43-23.  The home team led 49-31 at the break.

Atwater sank a three-pointer to open the final 20 minutes and the Bruins had their largest lead of 21 points at 52-31.  Jury, Colin Wester, LeMar Anglin and A.J. Gaulton then hit consecutive baskets for the Boxers to chop the deficit down to 13 and the comeback was on.  A Jury three-point play cut the Bruin lead to single digits at 61-52 with 10:54 left, and an Anglin jumper made it one-possession 66-63 game with 4:59 on the clock.

The Bruins got some breathing room back when a layup by Alex Stockner and a three-pointer by Travis Toedtemeier upped the lead back to eight at 71-63 with 4:07 to go.  Wiseley hit a trey for a 74-65 Bruin lead with 2:53 left, and Toedtemeier all but clinched the win with a layup off a Wiseley pass to make it a 10-point game again at 78-68 with 1:02 remaining.

Atwater led the Bruin sextet with 20 points, 13 in the first half, and canned 9-of-9 from the free throw line.  Joining him in the point parade were Stockner with 14, Wiseley, Toedtemeier, and Jack Martin with 11 each, and Rich Smith with 10.  Smith had a team-high seven rebounds as the Bruins held a 30-26 advantage on the boards.  Wiseley also passed out eight assists.  The Bruins wound up with a .538 shooting percentage (28-52) with six three-pointers and shot .857 (18-21) from the line.

Ross Bartlett led the Boxers with 16 points and just missed a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds.  He got help from Wester with 15 points, Jury with 13, and Anglin with 11.  Jury and Charles Mosley had two assists each as the Boxers had only eight assists on 26 field goals, preferring to get most of their points on one-on-one moves.  They finished with a .473 shooting mark (26-55) but struggled from long range, making only one of 12 three-point attempts, and were .833 (15-18) from the line.

NOTES: George Fox (5-6, NWC 2-0) visits eastern Washington this weekend, starting at Whitman College Friday at 8:00 p.m. ... Pacific (4-7, NWC 0-2) makes the same trip, playing at Whitworth University Friday at 8:00 p.m. ... Both games will be preceded by women's matches at 6:00 p.m.