Photo Taken By: Jake Ryan

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. --- The George Fox men's basketball team battled with the Kingsmen of California Lutheran University on Friday night, as the Bruins fell to the Kingsmen, 76-63.

Recap:
Both teams went back-and-forth in the first six minutes of the first half, but the Kingsmen opened up the scoring from 13:23 to 10:50, as they used an 11-0 run to spark a 22-11 lead. George Fox tried to rally back and cut into the deficit, but CLU was on fire, shooting a 63.6 percent clip from behind the arc (7-11) in the half.

The Kingsmen went into intermission up, 44-29. CLU recorded 29 of its 44 points off the bench, and freshman Justin Kam led the way, recording a new career-high 12 points at the half.

The Bruins came out of the break with some momentum and started chipping away at the deficit early. After 11 minutes of the play, the Bruins had cut the deficit to nine after JJ Lacey knocked down a deep three, 60-51. The next five minutes proved to be extremely physical, as both teams stepped up their pressure on defense and physicality in rebounding. Ryan Thistlewood brought the Bruins within eight at the 3:20 mark after a triple, 67-59, but the Kingsmen responded with three-straight baskets.

Top Performers:
Lacey led the Bruins on the night with 16, shooting 7-10 from the field and 2-3 from behind the arc. He also added four rebounds to his performance. Thomas Rico was close behind with 13 points, as he went perfect from the charity stripe (8-8).

The Kingsmen were led by Kam, who finished his career-high night with 14 points. CLU had four players in double figures.

What Comes Next:
The Bruins (2-7) look to bounce back on Saturday, Dec. 19 with a game against California Tech at 2:00 p.m.