KIRKLAND, Wash. – After leading throughout the first half and hanging tough midway through the second, the George Fox University Bruins were throttled by a 28-6 run by Northwest University over the final 11 minutes that gave the Eagles an 83-57 non-conference men's basketball victory Saturday evening here at the NU Pavilion.

The first half was characterized by streaks from both teams.  After the Bruins' Rich Smith and the Eagles' Greg George traded layups to open the game, the Bruins reeled off 11 unanswered points to mount a 13-2 lead with 16:11 left in the half.  Another Smith layup, back-to-back three-pointers by Mike Taylor, and a three by Stephen Wiseley contributed to the run. 

A three by Daley Landon halted the George Fox run and sparked an 11-2 outburst by the Eagles that brought them within two points at 15-13 after two free throws by Tyson Christie at the 13:03 mark.  The visitors then went off on another tear, this one 10-3, to go up 25-16 following a Matt Zandbergen layin with nine minutes left.  A 13-4 spurt by Northwest enabled the home team to tie it 29-29 on a layup by Rich Skillman, but a pair of threes by Wiseley kept the Bruins on top and sent them into the locker room with a 35-34 edge.

Wiseley led all scorers with 13 points in the period, while Taylor added 10.  George paced the Eagles with nine first-half points.

Taylor dunked to open the second half, but two free throws by Landon and a fast break layup by Ahmaad Cook gave Northwest its first lead of the game at 38-37.  There were two lead changes and two ties over the next two-and-a-half minutes before a three-pointer by Christie gave the Eagles the lead for good at 46-43 with 17 minutes remaining.  That ignited a 12-3 Eagles' run that made it a nine-point game of 55-46, Skillman's two free throws capping the rally at 12:17.

Taylor hit a jumper and a trey to bring the Bruins within four at 55-51 with 11 minutes to play, but that was as close as they could get the rest of the way.  Greg Peters, who had bedeviled the Bruins with a 20-point, 22-rebound game in their first meeting back on Nov. 20 (an 86-81 NU win), was at it again, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the second half as the Eagles turning a tight game into a rout with their 28-6 game-ending rush.

Taylor led all scorers with 19 points for the Bruins, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and blocked three shots.  Wiseley and Smith each finished with 13 points, and Wiseley handed out a game-high nine assists.  The Bruins shot only .333 (24-72) from the field for the game and .207 (6-29) from three-point range.

Peters led a sextet of Eagles in double figures with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while George also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.  Cook and Christie added 13 points apiece, Landon had 11, and Skillman tossed in 10.  Christie passed out five assists.  The Eagles controlled the glass 54-34 while shooting .455 (30-66) from the field and .353 (6-17) from beyond the arc.  Northwest also had an overwhelming advantage at the free throw line, hitting 17-25 to the Bruins' 3-4. 

George Fox, playing the fifth in a series of 10 straight games away from home, fell to 1-6 on the season.  Northwest, ranked 11th in the latest NAIA Division II national poll, completed a two-game sweep of the season series with the Bruins and is now 10-2 overall.

NEXT: George Fox concludes its pre-Christmas schedule Monday with a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game at Corban University in Salem ... Northwest is back in action Wednesday, hosting Pacific University in another non-league contest at 5:30 p.m.