FOREST GROVE, Ore. -- The George Fox men's basketball team trailed by 23 with eight minutes left. They trailed by 15 with four minutes left. And they trailed by eight with one minute left. And though the Bruins didn't pull out the win against the Pacific Boxers, they showed tremendous heart in a 97-95 loss.

How It Happened
The Bruins had a strong start to the game as Donovan Cooks tallied the first score in the paint—Pacific tied the score 2-2, but Fox struck back with two Jake Centner free-throws, and a Jamar Mitchell three-pointer, bumping the score 7-2.

Five minutes in, the Boxers passed Fox by—Dre Lawrence tied the score 11-11 with a layin, but Pacific continued to keep dominance. Later, Fox tried to keep pace when Anthony Williams and Noah Marte made two back-to-back three-pointers, but stayed behind by five, 28-23.

A 9-2cPacific run managed to put them 12 points ahead, though Mitchell kept it close with a layup with three minutes remaining in the first half. Meanwhile, Fox had a strong ending to the period as Centner made two free-throws and Sydndey Natche scored an alley-oop layup on a fast break pass from Cooks with just five seconds left—the score was 45-31 at the break.

Lawrence began the second half with a layup, but the Boxers kept their lead strong in the first three minutes. Quickly, Pacific held a 20-point lead, one that straight to a 23-point, 81-58 advantage with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Fox began their comeback attempt with a Nico Cervantes triple, before Trey McDonald III scored in the paint on a fastbreak, attempting to catch up to Pacific. Cory Schramm made two free-throws on the fastbreak, and then a powerful dunk to cut the deficit to 83-69. Then, one-by-one, the Bruins made their way to the near top as Marte and Schramm made layups, and Williams made two three-pointers. Then, Marte and Williams made a three-pointer each, giving all they had—shooting them up to 92-89 with a minute remaining.

The Bruins had rattled off seven straight made shots in the closing moments to make a seemingly out-of-reach game within firing distance. With 16 seconds left, Williams made yet another strong three-pointer on a fastbreak, cutting the deficit to just one, 95-94. The Bruins fouled on the next possession, and found themselves down three with six seconds left. The following inbounds featured a zany play that saw Cooks make a diving save to keep the ball inbounds to Natche, who was fouled on the three-point attempt. Suddenly, Fox had a chance to tie.

The freshman missed his first free throw, but made his second. Down by two, Vanndon Heard checked in the game, looking to get an offensive rebound off of a purposeful miss. The junior did just that, pulling in the ball off of Natche's miss. Head's layup shot at the buzzer went up and just missed, ending Fox's spirited comeback attempt in a heartbreaking 97-95 loss.

Top Performances
Noah Marte had a career-high 25 points scored in the game, knocking down five triples. Donovan Cooks, meanwhile, scored 16 points total, with four steals and a career-high nine assists. Nico Cervantes was the other double-digit scorer with 11 points on 3-4 shooting from deep. Cory Schramm and Sydney Natche led the team with eight rebounds apiece.

What It Means
The Bruins fall to 4-20 (3-12 NWC) on the season, while the Boxers rise to 10-14 (6-9 NWC).

What Happens Next
Fox will play their final game of the season against the Linfield Wildcats (8-14, 6-8 NWC) in Newberg on Saturday, February 21. Senior Night is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 pm.