NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox men's basketball team played their best game of the season against the Lewis & Clark River Otters, nearly leading wire-to-wire in a 92-82 win.

How It Happened
Lewis & Clark scored the first basket of the game, but quickly bounced back when Cory Schramm knocked in a three-pointer—up 3-2; Fox would not trail for the remainder of the game. Donovan Cooks added to this lead with two successive driving lay-ins, giving Fox a 7-2 lead

In a sign of things to come, Sydney Natche scored three driving layups as well within the next three minutes, shooting them ahead 13-4. At the 15-minute mark, Donovan Cooks added to the scoreboard, fixing two driving fallaways and a three-pointer—more than just doubling the Otts' score at 21-9. In those opening minutes, Cooks and Natchae had combined for 20 of the Bruins' first 23 points.

The Otts fought back, scoring five quick points to get within three up of Fox, but a powerful dunk from Schramm and a lay-in by Cooks helped Fox get back on track and back in the lead, 27-20. Natche then made two free-throws and a clean three-pointer, But it didn't stay like that for long as the Otts tried to catch up once again. Natche made another driving layup and two free-throws to take back control, and they kept it at 41-33. 

The second half began with an immediate free-throw scored by Cooks. There was some back-and-forth for the next few minutes, but Fox still kept a decent lead over Lewis & Clark. With thirteen minutes remaining, Nico Cervantes kept a 10-point lead with a pull-up shot at 66-55, and later, Williams broke through that 10-point gap with a step-back shot and Cervantes with another pull-up—70-59.

The River Otters were gaining on them again though, with eight minutes left and Schramm charged to make way in the paint, scoring  72-68. Meanwhile, within a minute of each other, Cooks made four consecutive free-throws, putting Fox farther ahead at 76-68. 

Later, with two minutes on the clock, Natche scored two free-throws and another lay-in, advancing the score to 85-75, and sealing the game for the Bruins. Both teams continued to score back-and-forth, with Luke Tobin finishing off the game with two free-throws, resulting in a 92-82 victory for the Bruins.

Top Performances
Junior Donovan Cooks scored a total of 35 points—his best of this career thus far, shooting 12-20 from the field, 8-9 from the free-throw line, with recording five rebounds and three assists as well. Sydney Natche was close behind, scoring 28 points overall with four rebounds and one assist — in total, Natche and Cooks combined to score 63 points. Nico Cervantes finished with eight points, hitting both of his triples. Cory Schramm led the way with 10 rebounds, while Jake Centner had two blocks.

What It Means
While Fox was still eliminated from conference championship contention due to other scores from around the league, the Bruins rise to 3-18 (2-10 NWC), while the River Otters fall to 11-10 (7-5 NWC). 

What Happens Next
The Bruins will go to Walla Walla, Wash. on Friday, February 13 to play against the Whitman Blues (9-12, 4-8 NWC). The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 pm.