Photo Taken By: Jake Ryan

NEWBERG, Ore. --- The George Fox men's basketball team closed out their non-conference schedule against No. 1 Augustana College on Tuesday night, as the Bruins fell to the top-ranked Vikings, 76-58.

Recap:
Augustana, last season's national runner-up, came into the game with an 8-0 record and 22.3 average margin of victory. The Vikings recently beat NWC members Puget Sound by 24 and Lewis & Clark by 33, but the Bruins hung tough throughout. 

George Fox forced three ties in the first half and the lead changed hands six times. The Bruins showed they were up for the challenge in the early going, as they took their third lead of the game after a nice Jacoby Wolfe layup, 12-11.

The Vikings ended up increasing their lead to seven, 21-14, at the 8:17 mark, but the Bruins continued to battle and went on a 10-3 run to force the final tie of the first half, 24-24.

The Vikings went into intermission up by 10, 37-27. The Bruins out-rebounded the Vikings, 25-22, in the first half.

Augustana came out red hot in the second half, shooting 64 percent from the field. The Vikings led by 23 at one point in the second half, but again, the Bruins responded going on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 14 at the 1:20 mark, 72-58.

Top Performers:
JJ Lacey finished with 12 points and five rebounds in his 25 minutes of play. Both Jacoby Wolfe and Dylan Hamlett were crucial for the Bruins in the paint, as they both collected seven rebounds apiece. Thomas Rico was the next closest scorer with nine.

Ben Ryan led the Vikings with 22 on 10-13 shooting.

What It Means:
With the loss, the Bruins fall to 3-8 on the season, while the Vikings remain undefeated at 9-0.

What Comes Next:
The Bruins will enjoy a nice long break before they get back on the hardwood with their first game of the 2016 season on Jan. 8 at Lewis & Clark.