The Bruins (6-4 overall, 2-0 NWC) remained tied for the early NWC lead by sinking 12 of 13 three point attempts for a school record 92.3% from beyond the arc. George Fox shot 61.4% overall.
The second half was the difference when George Fox made 65% of its shots (13/20), while holding Whitworth (5-5, 1-1) to 37.1% (13/35) and forcing 11 Pirate turnovers.
The game did not get underway until Whitworth's Jon Young sank a pair of free throws after the Bruins received a technical foul for dunking the basketball during warmups. The Pirates then got a pair of free throws from Rob Simons with 00:00 on the clock after he was fouled as the first half expired. The charity tosses gave Whitworth a 45-44 halftime lead.
Whitworth extended the lead to 50-44 on George Tucker's basket 2:15 into the second half. But then the Bruins caught fire. Ben Melvin's three-point shot tied the game at 50-50. With the game tied 57-57 the Bruins went on a 12-4 run to take control, beginning with another three-pointer by Melvin.
After the Pirates pulled within 77-73 on a basket by Bryan Williams with 3:02 to play, the Bruins outscored the Pirates 12-5 the rest of the way.
George Fox remained tied for first place in the NWC with preseason favorite Puget Sound and completed the Bruins' first 2-0 conference start since 1998-99. George Fox will host Linfield College next Saturday night.
Phillip Heu-Weller led the Bruins with 22 points, making four of five three-pointers, while Mark Gayman added 21. Melvin finished with 17 points, making all three of his three point attempts, as did Aaron Schmick, who totaled 13 points. Scott Szalay led all players with 11 rebounds.
Young scored 21 for Whitworth, sinking five of 10 three pointers. But the rest of Young's teammates were only 4/16 from beyond the arc. Tucker came off of the bench for 16 points and a team high five rebounds. Lance Pecht and Williams each had ten points for the Bucs.
Whitworth will return to action on Friday of next week, playing at 6th-ranked UPS in Tacoma.
GEORGE FOX 89, WHITWORTH 78 GEORGE FOX (6-4, 2-0) Heu-Weller, Philip 6-9 6-9 22; Gayman, Mark 6-12 8-13 21; Melvin, Ben 7-10 0-0 17; Schmick, Aaron 4-4 2-2 13; Satern, Brent 2-2 3-4 8; Szalay, Scott 2-5 2-5 6; Parker, Chris 0-2 2-4 2. Totals 27-44 23-37 89. WHITWORTH (5-5, 1-1) Young, Jon 6-13 4-4 21; Tucker, George 8-15 0-0 16; Williams, Bryan 4-13 1-2 10; Pecht, Lance 5-11 0-1 10; Jones, J.J. 4-6 0-3 9; Taylor, Derek 2-7 0-1 5; Simons, Rob 1-1 2-2 5. Totals 30-66 9-17 78. George Fox.................... 44 45 - 89 Whitworth..................... 45 33 - 78 3-point goals-George Fox 12-13 (Heu-Weller, Philip 4-5; Schmick, Aaron 3-3; Melvin, Ben 3-3; Gayman, Mark 1-1; Satern, Brent 1-1), Whitworth 9-26 (Young, Jon 5-10; Taylor, Derek 1-3; Williams, Bryan 1-6; Jones, J.J. 1-3; Simons, Rob 1-1; Pecht, Lance 0-1; Tucker, George 0-2). Fouled out--George Fox-Melvin, Ben, Whitworth-Tucker, George; Jones, J.J.. Rebounds-George Fox 34 (Szalay, Scott 11), Whitworth 34 (Taylor, Derek 8; Tucker, George 8). Assists-George Fox 16 (Schmick, Aaron 5), Whitworth 17 (Williams, Bryan 9). Total fouls-George Fox 22, Whitworth 26. A-900