SPOKANE, Wash. -- The George Fox men's basketball team fought hard against the top team in the Northwest Conference, the Whitworth Pirates, leading in the late stage of the game but ultimately falling, 93-86.

How It Happened
The Bruins started the game hot, catching the Pirates by surprise with a dunk from Sydney Natche and a try from Dre Lawrence to take a 7-1 lead. The Bucs, who looked to clinch the NWC with a win in the game, fought back, tying the game at 14 with a 7-2 run of their own. Fox kept pace with Whitworth, though, trading the lead several times in the opening stages of the game. With 10 minutes left in the first half, the game was knotted at 22 thanks to a Natche free throw.

Buckets from Luke Tobin and Noah Marte kept the game tied for the next several minutes, as Fox kept going punch-for-punch. After taking a brief 28-27 lead, Whitworth snagged momentum with nine straight points to take a 36-28 advantage. Fox battled back, with Donovan Cooks hitting two free throws and Jake Centner burning a triple, but a hot-shooting Whitworth team soon moved the lead to 11, 44-33. Cooks made sure that the Bruins ended the half on a high note, scoring five points in the final seconds to make the score 49-42, Pirates, at the break.

Cooks continued to stay hot out of the halftime locker room, scoring five more points to cut the Bucs' lead to just five. The junior transfer would score a total of 13 straight points for GFU — the five to end the first half and eight to start the second — but Whitworth, who hit nine treys in the first half, knocked down two jumpers to extend the lead back to 12.

Down 11 with 14:53 left, the Bruins began their most sustained comeback attempt yet. Fittingly, it began with a Cooks jumper, before Marte knocked in a triple. Then, it was Nico Cervantes' turn to hit one from beyond the arc before handing the torch back to Marte for a layup and another swished triple. Suddenly, the game was tied at 64; in just four minutes, the Bruins had gone on a 14-3 run.

Fox wasn't just content with the tie, though — they wanted the lead. Marte hit another three-pointer to take a 67-66 lead, and the teams traded blows for the next three minutes, trading the lead five times. Centner helped his squad extend the lead to three points, 73-70, with a driving and-one layup, but the Pirates quickly answered with a triple of their own. 

Several Pirate offensive rebounds helped Whitworth regain control of the game, and the Bruins' three-point lead quickly changed to a five-point deficit with three minutes to play. Cooks would not let the Bruins go down without a fight, scoring nine of Fox's final 10 points in the game. Ultimately, Fox would drop the hotly-contested game, 93-86.

Top Performances
For the second time in three games, Donovan Cooks put up a 30-point performance; the junior had 30 points thanks in part to 14-15 shooting from the charity stripe, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists as well. Noah Marte, meanwhile, had 16 points and three triples while Sydney Natche had 11. Jamar Mitchell led the team with two steals, recording a block as well.

What It Means
The Bruins fall to 4-19 (3-11 NWC) on the year, while the Pirates improve to 19-4 (13-1 NWC). With the win, the Pirates clinched their 23rd Northwest Conference regular-season championship in program history. 

What Comes Next
Fox will have a quick turnaround after the six-hour trip back to Newberg. They'll face the Pacific Boxers (9-14, 5-9 NWC) on the road on Tuesday, February 17. The midweek matchup in Forest Grove, Ore., is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.