PORTLAND, Ore. – With no answer for Lewis & Clark College guard Kelly Edwards, who torched the nets for 36 points, 21 in the second half, the visiting George Fox University Bruins dropped an 80-70 decision to the Pioneers in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game Friday night here at the Pamplin Sports Center.

After Edwards hit a three-pointer for the Pios to open the game, the Bruins went on 9-2 run to go up 9-5 four-and-a-half minutes into the game.  Cole Whitehurst had two buckets and Mike Taylor a three-pointer and a jumper in the George Fox outburst.  The Pios answered with an 8-0 run of their own, capped by a driving layup by Marcus Wells, to regain the lead 13-9 with 12:38 left in the period.  Again the Bruins came back with a 9-2 rally, Taylor hitting a basket and two free throws before Stephen Wiseley hit a three to give the visitors an 18-15 lead with 10:15 left.

Donato Perconti tied it with a trey 17 seconds later, and Edwards put the home team ahead for good with a free throw at the 9:19 mark.  Back-to-back threes by Perconti and Edwards extended the L&C lead to 25-18, and though the Bruins twice closed within four before the half ended, the Pioneers took a 41-33 lead into the break.

The second half was mostly an exchange of baskets through the first 15 minutes as the Pios' lead fluctuated between seven and 12 points during that time.  A three by Edwards gave L&C a 12-point lead of 68-56 with 6:10 left before the Bruins fought back with eight points in a row.  Layups by Taylor and Matt Zandbergen, followed by a pair of free throws by Whitehurst and Wiseley, brought the Bruins within four at 68-64 with 3:32 to go.

A driving layup by Edwards ended the Bruins' run at 3:03 and boosted the Pios' lead back to six.  With the Bruins missing from the field and forced to foul, Edwards sank eight free throws and Wells two in the final 1:17 to keep the Pios safely in front.

Taylor topped the Bruins with 19 points, followed by Rich Smith with 18, Whitehurst 12, and Wiseley 11.  The Bruins shot .438 (28-64) from the floor, including 5-17 from three-point range, and .750 (9-12) from the line.  Whitehurst had a game-high nine rebounds, while Wiseley handed out five assists.

Edwards hit 10-19 from the field, 3-8 on threes, and 13-14 from the line for his big game.  Perconti chipped in with 14 points, and Kyle Meeuwsen and Wells had 11 each.  L&C shot .475 (28-59) from the floor, including 9-24 from beyond the arc for the third-best three-point scoring team in the nation.  They were also 15-17 (.882) from the stripe.  Meeuwsen and Edwards had seven rebounds apiece as the Pios held a 37-35 edge on the boards.  P.J.Taylor and Scott Pisapia passed out four assists apiece.

NEXT: George Fox (3-9, NWC 1-2) plays its first conference home game of the season Saturday at 8:00 p.m. vs. Pacific University … Lewis & Clark (10-3, NWC 3-1) goes to Pacific Lutheran University next Friday at 8:00 p.m. … Both games will be NWC doubleheaders, with women's games preceding the men's games at 6:00 p.m.