NEWBERG, Ore. -- Despite a halftime lead, the George Fox men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest to the Whitman Blues, 93-88.

How It Happened
The Bruins were dealt a blow at the start of the game, as Sydney Natche was a last-second scratch and would miss the game. Noah Marte earned the start in the freshman guard's absence — and quickly made his impact known with a triple in the opening minutes. Along with Marte's trey, Cory Schramm hit two free throws, and Donovan Cooks scored seven quick points to help the Bruins to an early 11-2 lead.

Three-pointers were the name of the game in the first half — in total, the Bruins canned 10 of them to help them take a lead into the break. Marte, Cooks, Jamar Mitchell, Anthony Williams, Nico Cervantes, and Jake Centner all hit at least one in the high-flying first. In one sequence, the Bruins turned a 26-31 deficit into a 41-31 lead thanks to five straight triples. Fox kept that momentum into the half; though the Blues cut into the GFU lead, two free throws from Dre Lawrence gave Fox a 52-49 advantage after one.

Fittingly, Cooks nailed a nasty stepback three in the opening minutes of the second half, with a Schramm tip-in and Lawrence layup giving the Bruin men a 10-point lead.  Little by little, though, the Blues began to chip away; the 10-point lead became eight, the eight-point lead became four, and with 10 minutes remaining, Whitman took their first lead since the midway point of the first, 68-66.

Williams stopped the bleeding with a layup, and the Bruins kept close with free throws from Cervantes and an and-one from Jake Centner. On the Whitman side, Ali Efe Isik proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The Blues forward countered several solid Bruin shots with tough finishes in the paint. Mitchell gave a solid defensive effort, blocking Efe Isik to keep the score close at 75-74, but the Bruins couldn't snag the lead.

The teams traded free throws before a Marte triple cut a six-point Whitman lead in half. A layup the next possession by Dre Lawrence had the Bruins within one, 84-83, with two minutes left. Efe Isik closed the game out with five of his 37 points, and though Cooks hit a late three and Fox got within four in the closing seconds, the Bruins dropped the game, 93-88.

Top Performances
Donovan Cooks led the team with 22 points and five assists, including three triples. Noah Marte had four treys of his own, scoring 18 points. Jake Centner and Nico Cervantes were the other two double-digit scorers, each scoring 11 apiece. Centner had his first career double-double on the night, with 11 rebounds of his own, though Cory Schramm led the way by tying his career-high with 13 boards.

What It Means
The Blues rise to 7-8 (2-4 NWC), while the Bruins fall to 1-14 (0-6 NWC). 

What Happens Next 
Fox will stay in Newberg. for their next conference game against Pacific on Tuesday, January 20. Tip-off against the Boxers is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.