SALEM, Ore. -- The George Fox men's basketball team fell to the Willamette Bearcats after a tough back-and-forth battle, 87-76. 

How It Happened
While the Bearcats were the first to score in the half, the Bruins were ready to get it back and more. Jamar Mitchell started off the streak with an aggressive play in the paint which was quickly followed by an offensive rebound turned tip-in from Dre Lawrence; the streak continued with another finish at the rim — this time by Sydney Natche — that was the result of a Noah Marte stealthy steal. Wrapping up the rally was Mitchell, but this time from behind the outer ring where with a swishing trey, GFU held a 9-4 lead. However, Willamette wasn't going to go down so easily; within the next five minutes, the Bearcats racked up points and went on a 14-0 streak to double the Bruins' points, 18-9. 

It was with a little less than 12 minutes left that the battle on the court began between the two teams. For George Fox, Cory Schramm and Donovan Cooks put up arching threes to close the gap in score. Natche followed not long after with a hot streak of his own by creating chaos in the paint; after an aggressive put-up, he hit a smooth jump shot to keep GFU's offense alive. Natche continued his aggression into the defensive side of the court where — after pressuring the Bearcats offense for a steal — he was fouled and drawn to the charity stripe. After a good Natche free throw along with a drained three from Nico Cervantes, George Fox once again took the lead, 23-22. 

Their lead proved to be short-lived, but GFU was resilient despite Willamette's offensive pressure. Cervantes and Natche continued to be problems for the Bearcats defense and put up a driving layup and floating jumpshot, respectively. Schramm followed not far behind with an impressive finish at the board. On the defensive end, the Bruins' defense was still working hard — especially with Mitchell. After sneaking in a steal, he was able to get a transition layup in contested territory that resulted in an and-one shot. Despite GFU's relentless offense, the Bearcats were also putting up numbers, and — within the last two minutes — were able to go on a 9-0 run to make a bigger gap in the score, 41-32. 

The back-and-forth started right back up again with the start of the second half, but this time around, George Fox was the first to put up offensive numbers. Jake Centner and Natche each attacked the rim for a layup apiece, 43-36. After a Mitchell jump shot, Cooks and Anthony Williams recorded two more clean finishes at the basket for GFU. It didn't take long before Natche's offense heated up in the paint once again; following a driving lay-in, Natche snagged an offensive rebound that resulted in a put-back. Cervantes made a driving cut to the board before Natche recorded another swishing jumper to make the score 67-54. 

With less than 10 minutes left in the second half, the Bruins' offense was far from slowing down. From deep behind the outer ring, Cooks put up a trey to shrink the score down to a nine point difference; right behind him was Williams who filled the lane for a swift put up. Willamette's offense was consistently tough and put up a 9-0 run to further widen the gap in the score. Despite this, GFU continued to hack away at the score. Matthew Sitler and Luke Tobin put up points behind the charity stripe to start things off. Thanks to not one, but two offensive rebounds, Cooks recorded another tip-in for George Fox. Behind the perimeter, Cervantes was putting in work with three swishing threes to keep the offense alive. Cooks continued to show off his skills in the paint with a driving layup as well as a floating jumpshot. While the Bruins were able to close the gap in the score, they ultimately fell 87-76 to the Bearcats. 

Top Performances
Fox had four players score in double-digits: Sydney Natche with 17 points, Donovan Cooks with 16, Nico Cervantes with 13, and Jamar Mitchell with 12. Natche went 8-16 for field goals while Cooks went 7-17. Along with his aggression on the offensive end, Natche also recorded a team-high nine rebounds for the Bruins. 

What It Means
Willamette rises to 11-7 (6-3), while George Fox falls to 2-16 (1-8 NWC). 

What Happens Next
On Friday, January 30, George Fox will be back on their home court in Newberg to face-off against Puget Sound (11-6, 6-2 NWC). The game against the Loggers is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm.