SALEM, Ore. -- The George Fox men's basketball team cruised to a win over Willamette University, leading by as much as 28 points in their best win of the young season. 

How It Happened
The Bruins wasted no time pulling away from the Bearcats, shooting lights out to start the game. James Moore and Momo Stokes opened up the game with 11 straight points while the defense allowed no points for the first three minutes. Willamette brought the game to within four points at the 14-minute mark, but the Bruins recovered, extending their lead to 12 by the end of the half. Fox shot 48% in the half, including 5-6 from behind the arc. 

The second half was all Bruins, with the team leading 72-53 at the first media timeout. The Bruins had 5 steals in the half and shot over 50 percent from the field. The star of the second half was Chris Nickelberry, who continued his hot start to the season with 15 points in the half. 

For the game, the Bruins shot an even 50% from the field on 39-78 shooting, including over 52% from three. Fox tied Willamette in rebounds with 38 rebounds each, an improvement for a Bruin team that was out-rebounded 47-12 two games prior.

Top Performances
Chris Nickelberry had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, the Bruins' leader in both. Momo Stokes had 15 points in the first half and 21 points in the game, while Davon Walker and James Moore both had 12 and 11 points respectively. Four Bruins had over 10 points in the game.

Coach's Thoughts
"I loved the response from last night," Bruin head coach Maco Hamilton said, "Our guys did a great job of being disciplined in the areas we focused on in regards to improvement for this game."

What It Means
The Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak, improving to 2-6 (1-1 NWC), while Willamette dropped their second straight NWC game, falling to 2-5 (0-2 NWC).

What Comes Next
The Bruins will take a break from NWC action, and travel north to Nampa, Idaho to play at Northwest Nazarene on Dec. 10th at 6 pm.