PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Lewis & Clark Pioneers hosted the George Fox Bruins Saturday night at Pamplin Sports Center, narrowly losing the game 78-72. In a similar performance to their game the night before, the Pioneers held the lead early in the second half but couldn't hold off a Bruin comeback.

Brian Smith led the scoring effort with 20 points. Shooting 7-11 from the field, this is his fourth 20-plus point game and second double-double of the season. Zeke Crawford and Daelon Floyd logged eight points apiece, both shooting 4-6. Crawford added seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.

Brenden Patrick and Ryan Cibull matched their career-highs with three assists each and combined for 10 points.

Follow the Lewis & Clark Pioneers on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #PiosMBB | #RollPios | #chamPIOns

Key Moments

A couple of early buckets from the Bruins established a 7-2 lead two minutes into the first half, but the Pios went on a seven-point run to flip the game to 9-7 in their favor.

The teams traded the lead back and forth eight times in the half, with the Bruins pulling away to a 21-15 lead by 11:02 before the Pios went on a four-point run to close the gap. Each team successfully answered every made basket from 5:59 through 4:06 to keep the score within a point. The game went into halftime 41-39 in favor of the Bruins.

An eight-point run for the Pios in the beginning of the second half put them ahead until two free throws from Jackson Januik and back-to-back jump shots from Zach Sly and Emilio Mancol brought the Bruins even. Sly made another layup at 13:54 that pushed the Bruins ahead for good. 

Deeper Look

• Of their six NWC losses, four have been by 13 points or less
• The Pioneers had 14 fast break points to the Bruins' 4
• Sly had his second double-digit scoring game of the year
• Smith had a career-high 10 defensive rebounds of his 12 total rebounds in the game
• The Pios outshot the Bruins 51.6 percent to 43.8 percent in the first half
• Nick Lombardi matched Patrick and Cibull with three assists

Looking Ahead

The Pioneers will host Willamette on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The game will be the Pios' second matchup with the Bearcats.