By Seth Preuss

PORTLAND --- The George Fox men's basketball team opened Northwest Conference play on Friday, Nov. 30, with a road game against Lewis & Clark. Dylan Hamlett led the Bruins with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double in a 93-78 win going away.

Recap

After winning the opening tip, Hamlett got the scoring started with a layup on the first possession of the night. The Pios responded with an 11-2 run to claim an 11-4 lead after four minutes of action, but buckets by Mason Green-Richards, Ryan Lacey, and JD Ahlstrom helped close the gap.

The Pios continued to maintain a five-point advantage for the majority of the first half, but a layup from Jackson Januik cut the Pios' lead to three at 6:09 with a score 31-28. Lacey added layups and triples, Januik added a trey and a steal for a transition layup, and the Bruins outscored their hosts 15-7 in the last six minutes to take a 43-38 lead at the break.

With the momentum already on their side, the Bruins cemented their lead by scoring the first eight points of the second period and ran out to a 51-38 lead after less than two minutes of action in the half.

The Pios struggled to keep close the gap after that initial onslaught from George Fox. The teams traded shots the rest of the way to the end, but the Bruins held the lead and grew it to 15 points by the final buzzer for the 93-78 victory in a team effort.

Top Performers

Hamlett led the Bruins in every metric with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks in their 15-point win over the Pioneers. Lacey added 19 points with another great shooting performance – six of 14 from the field, three for five from deep – and Green-Richards tallied 18 points, four boards, and two steals.

What It Means

The Bruins improve to 4-2 on the year and are 1-0 against NWC competition in the young 2018-19 season, while the Pios dropped to 0-5 and 0-1 in NWC play. The Bruins have some positive momentum and have won their last two in a row after dropping a tournament game in Colorado to Johnson & Wales in the Rocky Mountain Classic.

What Happens Next

George Fox hosts its first NWC contest of 2018-19 with a tilt at home against Puget Sound on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 6:00 pm.