NEWBERG, Ore. – The three previous meetings between Lewis & Clark College men's basketball and George Fox University were decided by a total of 14 points. Saturday's Northwest Conference matchup continued the trend of close games with 15 lead changes and 11 ties, but despite a 60-foot trey by Pioneer sophomore Kody Uyesugi at the buzzer, the Bruins escaped with the 96-94 win.  
 
THE BASICS
 
George Fox 96, Lewis & Clark 94
(Lewis & Clark 6-13, 2-8 NWC)
(George Fox 13-6, 6-4 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Uyesugi and junior Sam Henderson each recorded career-highs for points in a game to lead Lewis & Clark as both guards recorded 20 or more points. Uyesugi finished 7-9 from long range after going a perfect 5-5 in the first half for his team-leading 25 points. Henderson shot 60% (6-10) from the floor and went 8-10 from the free throw line on his way to 20 points against the Bruins. The junior inbounded the ball with 0.9 seconds left in the game to Uyesugi and earned the assist on the buzzer beater.
 
Junior Mikey Medlock Jr. shot 62.5% (5-8) from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points and round out the Pioneers in double digits.
 
Sophomore TJ Muhammad hit seven of his nine shots from the charity strip in nine minutes of play to finish with nine points on the night.
 
A quartet of juniors, Nate Berg (8 points), Isaac Ticeson (7 points), Ryan Trunkett (7 points), and Sebastian DePrez (4 points), all contributed to the Lewis & Clark point total. Trunkett led the team with nine rebounds and played a season-high 27 minutes in his first start of the season. He was second on the team with three assists. Ticeson led the team with a career-high five assists and was second on the team with five boards.
 
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 11-5 lead before the first media timeout on a Ticeson layup, but the Bruins fought their way back to tie the game at 11 by the 12-minute media. Four and half minutes later, the two teams were tied at 26. George Fox started to pull away and led by as much as 36-31 with 4:38 before the break, but Uyesugi's second trey of the night made it 36-35, 30 seconds later. The sophomore then scored the following three Pioneer buckets, all threes, to take a 44-42 lead with 1:27 to go before the half. George Fox's Momo Stokes (37 points) made two of his game-high 15 free throws to tie the game at 44-all. Trunkett and Henderson scored the final five Lewis & Clark points before halftime for the 49-47 advantage.
 
George Fox jumped out to a quick five-point lead to start the second half, but Lewis & Clark quickly corrected and held a 61-57 lead at the 16-minute media off a Berg layup. Back-to-back jumpers by Medlock Jr. two minutes later gave the Pioneers the largest lead by either team in the game, 68-60 at 13:01. Lewis & Clark held the lead until Stokes hit a three to tie the game at 79 with 4:57 on the clock. A steal and a layup gave George Fox the lead for good, 81-79 with 4:35 to go.
 
With 1:28 left in the game, Henderson drew a foul down low and hit both of his free throws to pull the Pioneers within 92-88. Muhammad grabbed a defensive rebound on a Bruin miss and was fouled as he raced down the court. He made the second of his shots, then drew the offensive foul from Stokes. After the inbound, Henderson drew another foul in the key, and both his makes made the score 92-91 with 39 ticks on the clock. Stokes went to the line for the Bruins with 19 seconds to play and made both shots. Lewis & Clark turned the ball over with two seconds left, sending Stokes back to the line. His free throws with 0.9 seconds left set up the inbound from Henderson to Uyesugi, and the sophomore hit the 60-footer at the buzzer.  
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Uyesugi's seven three-pointers are tied for the most in a game in the NWC this season.  
• The Pioneers shot a season-high 57.9% from beyond the arc, which is tied for the third-highest percentage in the NWC this season.
• Henderson's previous career-high in points was 19 against Northwest Indian College his freshman year. He made five treys on December 9, 2021, in only his fifth collegiate game.
• The two teams committed 56 total fouls (28 on each team), and that is the most combined fouls in a game this season. Each team had two players foul out, and nine total players had four or more fouls in the game.

WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark travels to eastern Washington to take on the top two teams in the NWC next weekend. They play Whitman in Walla Walla on Friday at 8 p.m.