Photo Taken By: Jake Ryan

NEWBERG, Ore. --- Thomas Rico tied his season-high of 20 points to help the George Fox men's basketball team capture their first win of the season over UC Santa Cruz, 80-64, in a non-conference game in Wheeler Sports Center on Saturday night.

Recap:
Ryan Thistlewood and Johnathan Doutt opened up the scoring for the Bruins, hitting two deep threes to take a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes of the half. The Banana Slugs battled back and took their first lead of the game at the 15:31 mark on an Adam Marlow jumper. The score was tied six times in the first half and the lead changed hands 14 times.

The Bruins went into the break up by three, 42-39.

The Bruins stringed together a couple of nice runs in the start of the second half, but the largest came with four minutes left in the game. It all started at the 7:12 mark when Dylan Hamlett made a powerful move in the paint to draw the and-one play. With the crowd and bench energized off the and-one, the Bruins continued to pour it on, and the dagger came from Joshua Caddell, who hit a big corner three to give the Bruins a 10 point lead, 68-58. The Bruins finished the game with a 16 point edge over the Banana Slugs.

Top Performers:
Rico recorded his second 20 point game of the season and added two steals and four rebounds. Doutt and Mason Green-Richards both tallied 13 on the night. Green-Richards' 13 points is a new best for the freshman. Thistlewood finished with 10 and five rebounds.

The Bruins shot 51 percent from the 3-point line, going 15-of-29 from behind the arc.

What Comes Next:
The Bruins (1-6) will look to complete the weekend sweep when they host Colorado College on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.