George Fox trailed only once the entire game, when Mike Kirkham hit a jumper for a 5-4 Pioneer lead with 16:52 left in the first half, but were never able to shake the Pios. The Bruins' 38-31 lead at the break was their largest of the first period, and they stretched it to as many as 10 three times in the second half, the last at 48-38 on a layup by Mark Gayman with 15:36 left in the game.
The Pioneers battled back and tied it twice, the second at 65-65 on a layin by Adam Merino with 3:53 left, but were never able to take the lead. Merino hit another layup with 51 second left to cut a George Fox lead to 72-69, and the Pios then went to a fouling strategy in hopes of cutting into the margin further. The Bruins responded, however, as Aaron Schmick hit 6-of-6, Wadlow made 4-of-4, and Yeager hit 1-of-2 to keep the Pios at bay.
Yeager, the Bruins' "6th man" for most of the year, played perhaps the finest all-around game of his career, starting and scoring a game and career-high 21 points, hitting 8-of-13 from the field, with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Wadlow did not miss a shot, hitting 4-of-4 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 4-of-4 from the line for 14 points, with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Gayman added a double-double, his 6th of the season and 14th of his career, with 20 points and 13 boards, Scott Szalay scored 12, and Ben Melvin added 10. The Bruins shot 50.0% (28-56) from the field and 83.3% (20-24) from the line. Rebounds were even at 40-40.
The Pioneers got two double-doubles as John Mietus tallied 19 points and 15 rebounds and Tommy Magnuson had 17 points and 11 boards. Ryan Wells added 17 points, but Pios' No. 2 scorer and 5th-ranked 3-point field goal shooter in the country, Danny Winchester, struggled with only 8 points on 3-of-15 shooting and only 2 treys. Wells had 3 assists, and the Pios commited only 4 turnovers the entire game. However, they hit only 35.1% (26-74) from the field and 65.2% (15-23) from the line.
George Fox climbed to 7-16 overall and 3-11 in the conference while snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Pioneers. Lewis & Clark fell to 13-8 overall and 6-6 in the league.
The Bruins are off for 10 days, not playing again until they visit Whitworth College on Friday, Feb. 27. The Pioneers go to Pacific Lutheran University this Friday, Feb. 20. Both games are at 8:00 p.m., following women's games at 6:00 p.m.