By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

NEWBERG, Ore. -- Daniel Plumer (Jr., PG, North Las Vegas, NV/Democracy Preparatory Academy) and Cedric Coward (Fy., F, Fresno, CA/Central HS) combined to score 52 points for the Bearcats on Saturday, Feb. 12, but George Fox University shot 62.9% in the first 20 minutes to build a 19-point halftime lead, and the Bruins went on to defeat Willamette University, 108-94, at the Wheeler Sports Center. The Northwest Conference win improved GFU to 11-12 on the season, 6-8 in the conference. Willamette moved to 6-16 overall, 3-11 in the NWC.

Plumer topped all scorers with 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting. He also registered four steals. Coward tacked on 25 points and was 8 for 11 from the field. Plumer and Coward each grabbed 10 boards for the Bearcats, who gained a 46-39 rebounding edge.

Willamette also received double-digit scoring efforts from Jack Boydell (Jr., F, Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) and Jonathan Watts (Sr., W, San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS). Boydell finished with 19 points and five boards, while Watts earned 10 points and four boards.

George Fox was 22 of 35 from the field during the first half, including 7 for 11 from 3-point range (63.6%). The Bruins led 61-42 at halftime and shot 51.4% (19 of 37) in the second half. GFU was 2 for 13 on 3-pointers (2 of 13) after the halftime break.

Willamette shot 44.7% on field goals (34 of 76), but converted 50.0% (20 of 40) in the second half. The Bearcats outscored the Bruins 52-47 over the last 20 minutes, and pulled as close as 13 points with 3:33 remaining. WU struggled from behind the 3-point line, going 4 of 26 on the night (15.4%).

Davon Walker was GFU's leading scorer with 23 points. He was 9 of 15 on field goals and went 4-for-4 at the line. Kalu Stricklin chipped in 20 points, went 7 for 9 on field goals, and latched onto nine rebounds. Austin Clark tallied 14 points and four assists for the Bruins, while Brendan Ritschard recorded 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

The Bruins took a 9-4 lead on a jumper by Ritschard with 16:46 to go in the opening half. Willamette countered with a 5-0 run, as the Bearcats used a 3-pointer by Watts and a layup from Coward to tie the game 9-9 just over a minute later. GFU moved in front with a 3-pointer by Adam Damian. After Coward sank two free throws to pull WU one point, the Bruins scored 16 consecutive points to grab a 28-11 lead at the 11:43 mark. The offensive surge by GFU included eight points by Stricklin.

Willamette reduced the margin to 41-31 on a jump shot by Plumer with 6:51 left in the half. The Bearcats were unable to get closer and George Fox ended the first period with a 20-11. Leading scorers at halftime were Stricklin of GFU with 14 points and Plumer of WU with 13 points.

Coward drilled a 3-pointer to get Willamette within 61-45 just 1:03 into the second half. The Bruins tallied eight of the next 10 points to claim a 69-47 advantage at the 16:26 mark. The Bearcats trailed 86-66 with 10:04 to go, but Willamette responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 86-72 with 8:24 remaining.

George Fox led 96-76 after a layup by Nick Greenwood before fans saw the Bearcats put together a 10-3 run to lower the difference to 99-86 with 3:33 on the clock. The Bruins recorded the next four points.

The Bearcats will host Pacific University at Cone Field House on Friday, Feb. 18. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. (PST).