PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College men's basketball's comeback efforts from 25 points behind in the first half fell just short, as George Fox University held on for a 91-84 win in both teams Northwest Conference opener on Friday night. 
 
THE BASICS
George Fox 91, Lewis & Clark 84
(Lewis & Clark 2-4, NWC 0-1) 
(George Fox 5-2, NWC 1-0) 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Bruins shot 64.3 percent from the field in the first half and took advantage of 10 first-half Pioneers turnovers to race out to a 47-28 halftime advantage. Lewis & Clark would pick up their play in the second half and cut the deficit to as few as five points late, but the Pioneers comeback effort ultimately ran out of time. 
 
Junior transfer Mikey Medlock Jr. scored a season-high 27 points in 28 minutes of action. Medlock Jr. went 10-17 from the field and 6-11 from distance to lead all scorers. 
 
Sophomore TJ Muhammad earned his first minutes of the season and went off. He finished with 16 points on 6-8 shooting (2-2 from distance) and added one rebound, one assist and one steal in 13:48 of action. 
 
Junior Isaac Ticeson just missed a double-double after posting 15 points and eight rebounds (six offensive). Junior Sam Henderson was the final Pioneer in double-figures. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
Aiden Price and Momo Stokes led the visitors with 23 and 21 points respectively. James Moore chipped in 16 points and Moore and Stokes combined to go 15 of 19 from the free throw line. 
 
Very little separated the two teams through the first nine minutes, with neither team grabbing a lead of more than five points (George Fox 12-7). 
 
That would all change over the next nine minutes, as the Bruins went a on a 27-6 run to open up a 45-20 lead with 2:07 to go before halftime. George Fox couldn't miss during the stretch, as they scored on 14 of their 16 possessions.
 
Lewis & Clark closed the deficit to 47-28 by halftime thanks to two baskets each from Henderson and Muhammad. Muhammad forced a turnover with under ten seconds and then hit a jumper to to pull the Pioneers within 19 at half. 
 
The second half saw Lewis & Clark come out much more aggressive on both sides of the ball as they held George Fox to 43.3 percent shooting while hitting 50 percent of their own looks. 
 
Lewis & Clark struggled to cut into the deficit for the first nine minutes of the half (61-43 with 11:15 to play). The Pioneers used a mini 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 13 with 10:39 left but the visitors pushed their advantage back to 19 with 6:16 to play (74-55). 

That's when Lewis & Clark really upped their intensity and brought the large Pamplin crowd back into the game. The Pioneers began their charge with a 12-2 stretch that cut the deficit to single figures. Medlock Jr. hit a pair of threes and added a free throw and Henderson (three) and Muhammad also scored to make it 76-67 with 3:19 to play. 
 
After a single made Bruins free throw, Medlock Jr. canned another 3-pointer to bring the Pioneers within seven (77-70) with 2:30 left. The two two teams would trade points on their next two possessions, before a Muhammad three made it a six-point game (81-75) with 82 seconds to play. 
 
George Fox would seal the game away thanks to their strong free throw shooting. The Bruins went 11-13 over the final 82 seconds to deny the Pioneers a chance at the comeback. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Lewis & Clark led George Fox with a 34-29 edge in rebounds and 16-6 lead in offensive rebounds. They turned that offensive rebounding advantage into a 19-8 margin in second-chance points. 
• Medlock Jr. has posted back-to-back games with new career-highs for points as a Pioneer. Over his past two games, the junior has averaged 23 points per game on 54.8% shooting (17-31) and 55% shooting from distance (11-20). 
• George Fox finished the game shooting 24-31 (77.4 percent) from the free throw line. The Pioneers ended the contest 14-25 (56.0 percent). 
• Muhammad, who missed all but the first four games of last season due to an injury, recorded the second-most points and minutes played in a single-game of his career. He scored 23 points against Portland Bible College as a freshman (11/19). Muhammad finished the game a team-best +20 in his 13:48 of action. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
The Pioneers will play their second and final conference game of the semester, when they host Linfield University on Saturday at 6 p.m.