TACOMA, Wash. -- For the second straight game, the George Fox men's basketball team came painstakingly close to their first Northwest Conference victory, building up an early 20-point lead but ultimately falling to the Puget Sound Loggers, 71-70.

How It Happened
After Puget Sound scored the first points, Fox bounced back immediately — Donovan Cooks drilled a crisp three-pointer, before hitting a pull-up to give the Bruins the lead. Within the next minutes, Jake Centner knocked in two consecutive three-pointers and Jamar Mitchell hit a layup to give the Bruins a massive 17-4 lead.

After the Loggers put up four straight, Cooks came in again with less than 12 minutes remaining and a strong three-pointer — giving him 12 of the first 22 points. Nico Cervantes Trey McDonald III kept the avalanche rolling with a triple and a layup, and Fox was in business; after a Sydney Natche free-throw, GFU held a 20-point lead at 33-13. 

The Loggers kept chipping away at the Bruin lead, though, and by the last two minutes, they had cut the lead to single digits. Cooks knocked in a pair of free throws to keep Fox in front, and the Bruins still held an eight-point lead heading into the half, 39-31.

After finishing the half on a 18-6 run, PS shot out of the second half on fire, gaining on Fox. Natche had a strong floating jump-shot, a driving layup, and a smooth three-pointer all within the first three minutes to quell the crowd and keep his team ahead at 46-37,  but Puget Sound was on Fox's heels. The Loggers eventually tied the score at 48-48 with less than 14 minutes left.

Natche didn't let PS get ahead, though, coming in strong with a driving layup before Cooks made a three-pointer to put the Bruins in front, 53-50. But at the 11-minute mark, a layup put Puget Sound in front for the first time since the opening minutes. Several free throws from the Bruins kept Fox tight, but key offensive rebounds by the Loggers (Puget Sound would end the game with 26) let them stretch the lead to five with four minutes left

Down by four with 25 seconds remaining in the game, Noah Marte nailed a tough step-back three-pointer, cutting the deficit to one, 69-68. Puget Sound nailed two free throws with three seconds left to go up by three, 71-68, and chose to intentionally foul Cooks. The junior missed his first before purposely missing his second. Mitchell managed to grab the offensive rebound, and went up for a quick two. Down by three, the shot rolled on the rim for too long, falling after the buzzer sounded and giving the Loggers a 71-70 win and handing the Bruins their second straight heartbreaking loss despite great effort.

Top Performances
Donovan Cooks totaled 21 points and seven rebounds, while Sydney Natche ended the night with 18 points and four rebounds. Jake Centner led the team with eight rebounds, while Dre Lawrence had a team-high three assists.

What It Means
The Bruins fall to 1-11 (0-3 NWC) on the season, while Puget Sound advances to 7-4 (2-0 NWC). 

What Comes Next
The Bruins travel to Portland, Ore., to face Lewis & Clark (4-6, 0-1 NWC) on Friday, January 9, before the second semester begins. The first game is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm.