By Jacob Hayes

SPOKANE --- The George Fox Bruins were unable to crash the senior night celebrations of the Whitworth Pirates, losing by a final of 83-76.

Recap:   

The Bruins started from behind as Whitworth won the tip and scored six points, but Emilio Mancol dropped in a three to finally get on the board.  The scoring struggle continued, and with 13:27 left in the half, the Pirates held the lead 15-7.  However, Ryan Lacey got his night started with made shots on back-to-back possessions and JD Ahlstrom followed it up with a lay-up and three pointer to bring the score to 15-14.   

With the Bruins out of their early funk, the Pirates were unable to break away as the score stayed close for the rest of the half. Quinn Lacey made a clean baseline jumper and a lay-up soon after to keep the score close, but with 4:14 left, the Pirates made a few stops and got the lead up to seven.   

Even though the game was less than halfway over, the last minutes of the half held crucial value as the crowd was starting to get loud and Whitworth looked like they could pull away even further.  Fortunately, Ahlstrom drained a three that Davon Walker followed up with his own three  to stop the momentum.  Both teams fought on the defensive end, hoping to turn some stops into easy buckets, but most of the possessions ending in shooting fouls, ending the half with a 36-33 Whitworth lead.

The second half held the same intensity and the scoring difference hardly fluctuated.  Buckets were traded back and forth, neither team able to go on a run.  Q. Lacey got another bucket that Jackson Januik and Kalu Stricklin followed up with a lay-ups of their own to stay close.  Mancol hit another three right after and suddenly the Bruins were only down one with 15 minutes to play, 43-42.   

The momentum carried as Zach Sly got his first bucket of the night.  After some free throws, Ahlstrom finished a beautiful off-hand lay-up high off the glass to take the first lead of the night, 48-47.  Mancol drained his third three of the night to keep the lead, but the Pirates wouldn't let their senior night be spoiled.  Whitworth went on a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead and really locked down to make sure it wasn't lost again.  Januik got a three to fall, pushing back to get on top, but some unconverted free throws for the Bruins prevented the take-back. Nonetheless, with 5:03 to play, R. Lacey knocked down a mid-range jumper to stop a Pirate run and keep the game within reach, 67-64.

Clutch three point shooting down the stretch from Whitworth pulled them further ahead and to make it worse, coach Maco Hamilton earned a technical foul off the bench to help increase the Whitworth lead to 76-66, the largest of the night for either team.  But, even with time running out, George Fox refused to give up.  R. Lacey made some shots and free throws powered by an Ahlstrom steal to bring the score to 77-72, but the foul game was in full effect.  The Pirates made the clutch shots down in the final two minutes, going 9-10 from the charity stripe to prevent the comeback. When it was all said and done, the Pirates pulled out the win, 83-76.  

Top Performers:   

R. Lacey lead the Bruins in scoring with 16 points (5-10), four rebounds, and two assists.  Stricklin had 12 points on 4-5 shooting with six rebounds and two steals.  Mancol, off the bench, had 11 points, going 3-6 from behind the arc.    

What It Means:   

The Bruins fall to 4-10 in conference and 8-15 overall with two games remaining in the 2019-20 season.

What Happens Next:  

George Fox returns to Newberg for their senior night on Friday, February 21.  Tip-off against the Lewis & Clark Pios is scheduled for 8:00pm at Taylor Court as part of the Bruins' Senior Night festivities.