NEWBERG, Ore -- After a heated battle in a back-and-forth game, a second-half burst for the George Fox men's basketball team gave them a six-point edge over the Willamette Bearcats, 98-92.   

How It Happened
Though the scoring started off slow for both offenses in the first half, the Bruins managed to make a burst at the end to take a one-point lead into halftime. A shot by Adam Damian from Charlie Powers for a triple got the scoring started for the Bruins, and they used that momentum throughout the half. At one point in the half, the Bruins held an 11-point lead over the Bearcats, but a quick response by Willamette narrowed the lead to one going into the second half.

The second half was a much more high-scoring affair, with the Bruins getting on the board early with an eight-point unanswered streak to jump to an early lead. For the rest of the quarter, both offenses exchanged blows, leading to a close game going into the final minutes of the quarter. Chris Nickelberry and Kade Sorenson got the crowd on their feet with an emphatic block from Nickelberry, who found his teammate for the transition trey to give the Bruins an 81-72 lead.

Willamette came close near the end of the game, but the Bruins rattled off five free throws in a row to take an eight-point lead into the final seconds of the game — Fox shot 16-19 from the line in the second half. After a closing two points by the Bearcats, the Bruins picked up the win, 98-92.  

Top Performances
Chris Nickelberry and Kade Sorenson led the scoring for the Bruins, putting up 21 and a career-high 19 respectively to make up almost half of the Bruins' offensive tally. Though Nickelberry missed his only attempt at a triple, he shot 8-16 from the field and hit on 5-8 free throws. For Sorenson, he shot 6-8 from the field including four from deep and a 4-6 mark from the charity stripe in the highest-scoring game in his Fox career. Defensively, Adam Damian and Austin Clark each contributed two blocks, while Nickelberry, James Moore, and Nick Greenwood snatched two steals. James Moore led the way for Fox with a career-high eight boards.

Coach's Thoughts
"It was a great win for us tonight," Bruin head coach Maco Hamilton, "We made enough plays late to hold on. It was a great test of our mental fortitude, and our guys responded well."

What It Means
The Bruins improve to 5-14 (4-5 NWC) on the year, while the Bearcats drop to 5-12 (1-8 NWC). The win moved Fox into a three-way tie for fifth place, just one game back of the fourth and final spot in the NWC tournament.

What Comes Next
The Bruins hit the court next tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. against the Linfield Wildcats in Newberg for School Night Out. All K-8 students and their families will get in free to the game.