SALEM, Ore. – A.J. Grant and Spencer Bolte combined for 46 points and closed out a 17-4 George Fox University rally over the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game as the visiting Bruins stunned the Willamette University Bearcats 96-93 in Northwest Conference men's basketball Friday night here at the Cone Field House.

The first 12 minutes of the game were tight, with four ties and five lead changes.  The Bruins held a 19-18 lead after two Jason Martin free throws with 11:26 left in the half, but the Bearcats' Joseph Jackson nailed three three-point baskets in less than a minute to put the home team in front 27-21.  They eventually extended the margin to 46-31 on two Alex Hansen free throws with 1:10 left and led 46-35 at the break.

Shooting a blistering .614 (35-57) from the field for the game, including .533 (8-15) from behind the arc, the Bearcats were able to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the second half, though the Bruins did manage to climb within four at 67-63 with 8:55 left on two free throws by Grant.  The Bearcats answered with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back threes by Hansen and Jackson, for a 75-63 lead with seven minutes to go, and were still up by 10 at 89-79 with 2:35 left following a pair of Avery Manu free tosses.

The Bruins proceeded to rip off 11 straight points on a layup by Jonny Howard, a Martin three, a steal by Martin and three by Howard, and another Martin trey that gave the visitors a 90-89 lead with 55 seconds left.  The teams then swapped the lead three more times, Manu's short jumper with 12 seconds left giving Willamette its final lead of 93-92.

Grant's drive to the basket for a winning attempt was blocked by Kyle McNally with three seconds left, but Bolte grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 1.3 seconds to go.  He sank both free throws to give the Bruins a 94-93 edge, then McNally hit the underside of the backboard trying to throw a long downcourt pass, and Grant capped the amazing comeback with two more charity tosses with 0.7 left.

Grant led all scorers with 26 points for the Bruins, including 9-9 from the line, while Bolte added 20, Howard 16, and Martin 15.  Sean Atkins, playing for the first time since having his nose broken against Whitworth on Jan. 17, had a team-high nine rebounds.  J.J. Lacey handed out four assists, and Grant and Howard had three steals each.   

Five Bearcats scored in double figures: Manu with 20, Hansen and Jackson with 17, Alex Brown with 14, and McNally with 12.  McNally had a double-double with 10 boards, while Manu passed out six assist and Brandon Luedtke made three steals.

NEXT: George Fox (11-5, NWC 4-3) returns home to host the University of Puget Sound Saturday at 8:00 p.m. … Willamette (3-13, NWC 1-6) goes to Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Wash., Saturday, also at 8:00 p.m. … The NWC men's games will be preceded by women's games at 6:00 p.m.