WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- After taking a halftime lead, the George Fox men's basketball held on in a back-and-forth thriller, downing the Whitman Blues, 84-79.

How It Happened
Whitman started off the half hot, taking a 7-2 lead in the early stages of the game. After that, though, it was the Bruins who took control. Fox went on an 11-2 run, with five straight points from Noah Marte capping off the turnaround. Then, it was Sydney Natche's turn, scoring a layup and a transition slam to make the lead 17-11.

Quickly, though, there became an obvious story of the first half: Noah Marte could not miss. The junior made his first triple, then his second four minutes later. The next possession, he made his heat check. Then, with the entire Whitman team's eyes on the shooter, Marte knocked in a pull up from the volleyball line. When all was said and done, Marte was 5-6 from deep and had 17 points at the half.

It wasn't just Marte, though — several other Bruins chipped in to give Fox a 42-32 lead at the break. Donovan Cooks had a step-back triple of his own, as did Luke Tobin. Fittingly, Marte had the final points of the half (a three-pointer, of course) to keep GFU up 10 heading to halftime.

Cooks started the second half with another step-back trey, but the Blues worked their way back into the game. Over the next four minutes, Whitman went on an 18-3 run to cut the once 15-point lead to just two, 50-48. Fox would continue to fight, though, holding onto the lead. A Cory Schramm layup, Jake Centner triple, and Trey McDonald III driving layup all helped Fox in front; despite tying the game on several occasions, the Blues would not hold a lead over the next 10 minutes.

Finally, Whitman grabbed a 70-69 lead, their first since a 9-8 advantage five minutes into the game, on a Jacob Fotu triple with 6:28 remaining — and on cue, the Bruins responded with a Cooks driving layup and two free throws to wrangle back control of the game. The Blues once again cut the lead back to one, but Natche responded with a step back and a corner triple to put Fox up four. 

Whitman made their final push for the game with 3:31 remaining, hitting a triple to cut the Bruin lead to 78-77. The Blues had several shots at the lead over the next two minutes, but the GFU defense stood firm. Cooks and Dre Lawrence had key rebounds down the stretch, and Fox made their free throws down the stretch to clinch the game. Marte had the final two of the game as Fox won their second straight, 84-79.

Top Performances
Donovan Cooks led the way with 25 points, including a 4-8 mark from deep and a team-high four assists and four steals. Noah Marte, meanwhile, was 5-7 from beyond the arc — with all five triples coming in the first half — and finished with 19 points. Sydney Natche had 16 points and a team-high six boards.

What It Means
The Bruins improved to 4-18 (3-10 NWC) on the year, while the Blues fall to 9-13 (4-9 NWC).

What Comes Next
Fox travels three hours up north to Spokane, Wash. to face the top seed in the conference in the Whitworth Pirates (18-4, 12-1 NWC). TIp-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.