NEWBERG, Ore. – The George Fox Men's Basketball Team pushed past the Lewis & Clark Pioneers on the back of a historic performance by junior Momo Stokes, taking the victory, 96-94.

How It Happened
The first half of the game was extremely tight, with both teams shooting at over 50% for the period. Lewis & Clark jumped out to a five-point lead, but the Bruins immediately struck back with a nine point run that saw them edge ahead, 11-14. Two triples from Joshua Jones and Austin Clark bookended another eight point run by Fox, but the Pios' Kody Uyesugi caught fire — the sophomore went 5-5 from beyond the arc in the half — as the Bruins headed into halftime just behind, 49-47.

Fox regained the offensive momentum early in the second half with two layups from Nick Greenwood and impressive shooting from Momo Stokes, who had 18 points through the first 25 minutes of game time. The Pioneers continued their offensive pressure to keep the Bruins' comeback effort at bay before Fox exploded with a nine point run to take the lead, 83-79. Stokes shot lights out, and soon it was clear this was no ordinary night for the guard; the junior dropped three more treys and reached 21 points for the second half alone with two minutes left on the clock. 

Much like their first matchup, Lewis & Clark stayed competitive throughout the game. Several late fouls from Fox let the Pios pull back to within one, 91-92, before Stokes expertly drew a foul with nineteen seconds to play. The junior capped off his near-perfect performance by hitting both free throws, and added two more for good measure after a Pio turnover. Though a half-court heave from Uyesugi would bank in at the buzzer, it was the Bruins who were celebrating the win, 96-94. 

Top Performances 
To say Momo Stokes was on fire offensively would be an understatement — he finished the day at 60% from the floor, 66% from beyond the arc, and 15-16 at the free throw line. The junior finished with 37 points in his career high game – good for the seventh most points scored in a single game in George Fox history. The performance was the most points scored since Spencer Bolte put up 37 against Puget Sound in 2014. In addition to his scoring, Stokes led the team with four assists.

Austin Clark also impressed with 12 points, while Nick Greenwood and James Moore finished with 10 points each. Moore totaled a team-high five boards, while Greenwood contributed a block and a steal to lead the team's defensive effort. 

Coach's Thoughts
"We needed that!" Bruin head coach Maco Hamilton said, "LC played great tonight, and I thought we did a great job late in our offensive execution to maintain the lead and finish the game."

What It Means
The Bruins improve to 13-6 overall (6-4 NWC), while the Pioneers fall to 6-13 (2-8 NWC).

What's Next
The Bruins will look to take this momentum into their next matchup against Pacific on Friday, February 2nd. The game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.