NEWBERG, Ore. – Seth Brent blocked Cameron Schilling's potential game-tying three-pointer with three seconds left, then iced the game with two free throws as the George Fox University Bruins outlasted the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes 66-61 in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

With their third straight win, the Bruins improved to 9-6 overall and 5-2 in the conference and moved into sole possession of second place in the NWC standings.  Half a game back are Lewis & Clark College, which did not play Saturday, and Whitman College, a 94-87 winner over Willamette University; both are 11-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.  Pacific Lutheran slipped to 4-13 overall with its fourth loss in a row and 2-6 in the NWC.

Bryce Miller gave Pacific Lutheran an early lead with a putback before the Bruins reeled off 10 points in a row on baskets by Sean Atkins and Brent and three-pointers by Anthony Sanchez and A.J. Grant.  Another three by Sanchez gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead at 16-6 with 13:49 to go in the half, and the gap reached 15 when Spencer Bolte scored on a layup to make it 28-13 at the 8:41 mark.

The George Fox lead was still 15 after a three by Jason Martin with 7:05 left made it 33-18, but the Bruins hit only two of nine shots the rest of the period while the Lutes connected on seven of their final 12 attempts to get back into the game.  Cole Parker had two layups to key PLU's 13-5 run to the end of the half, and Andrew Earnest hit a three with 1:06 left to make the halftime score 38-31 in favor of the Bruins.

The Bruins' cold streak continued into the second half as they missed their first five shots while the Lutes came out hot, scoring 10 points in a row.  Miller and Daniel Landram each hit a basket and two free throws in the run, Landram giving the Lutes their first lead since the opening minute with his charity tosses at the 16:24 mark for a 39-38 lead.  Schilling followed with layup as PLU went up by three.

Sanchez finally got the Bruins on the board with a jumper at 15:10, and following a Landram drive, Brent and Josh Garlington scored as the Bruins regained the lead 44-43 with 13 minutes remaining.  From that point on, there were eight more lead changes and four ties as the outcome hung in the balance.

A three by Earnest and a jumper by Schilling gave PLU its largest lead of 51-47 with 10:25 left, but the Bruins battled back to take a one-point lead three times over the next eight minutes, finally going ahead for good on two Atkins free throws with 2:25 to play.  Two free tosses by Bolte and one by Atkins made it 63-59 Bruins with 51 seconds left before Kai Hoyt drove in to make it 63-61 with six seconds showing.  Bolte was fouled immediately and made the second of two free throws for a three-point advantage, setting up a finally try for a tie by Schilling.  Brent got a hand on it, Atkins recovered and passed to Brent, who was intentionally fouled by Arvid Isaksen, and the Bruins' center drained both tosses with 0.2 on the clock.

The George Fox offense was almost perfectly balanced as four starters scored 11 points apiece: Brent, Atkins, Sanchez and Grant.  Brent narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds, leading the Bruins to a 39-29 margin on the boards.  Sanchez handed out five assists, Atkins made two steals, and Atkins and Brent blocked two shots each.  The Bruins used a big advantage at the charity stripe, sinking 15-18 (.833) to only 4-6 (.667) for the Lutes.

Schilling was the only Lute in double figures with a game-high 19 points and also had a team-best eight rebounds and three steals.  Earnest had nine points on a trio of threes, while Landram passed out four assists.

NEXT: George Fox hosts Pacific University Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. for the fifth game of a six-game home stand.  There will be no women's game that evening ... Pacific Lutheran returns home to welcome Whitman College Friday for an 8:00 p.m. contest, preceded by a women's game at 6:00 p.m.