Colorado College nearly erased a 15-point deficit during the final four minutes, but George Fox University did just enough to escape Reid Gymnasium with a 78-73 victory in the final game of the 2018 Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic.

The Bruins led 75-60 when sophomore guard Ryan Lacey hit a triple with 3:58 to play, but CC ran off 11 consecutive points and pulled to within four when senior guard Edmund Pendleton sank a pair of free throws with 1:09 remaining.

After Jackson Januik missed the second of two free throws, Scott Cunningham drove the left side of the lane and scored with 18 seconds to play to reduce the Tiger deficit to 76-73.
 
The teams traded missed free throws on the front end of one-and-ones, then GFU's Kalu Stricklin was fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound with 5.2 seconds remaining. He missed his first toss, but senior forward Dylan Hamlett made two free throws with 3.1 seconds to go to secure the win for George Fox.

First-year guard Aaron Acosta, who earned a spot on the all-classic team, connected on six of nine shots from behind the arc and led CC with a season-best 26 points.

Junior forward CooXooEii Black added 12 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Tigers, while Pendleton scored eight points and dished out seven rebounds.

It was an uphill battle for Colorado College from the outset after watching the Bruins hit five consecutive three-point attempts while racing to an early 17-4 lead.

After senior guard Mason Green-Edwards connected from behind the arc to give the Bruins a 23-10 lead nearly eight minutes into the contest, CC scored eight consecutive points to get to within five on Black's three-point play.

GFU opened a 37-26 cushion on Lacey's three-point play with 3:45 to go in the half, only to see Colorado College respond with an 11-1 run to get to within a point on Acosta's fourth three-pointer of the half with 1:35 to play.

Acosta's free throws with 60 seconds to play evened the score at 40-40, but Green-Richards sank a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from the right wing to give GFU a five-point halftime lead.   

CC opened the second half with a 9-3 surge and took its first lead when Acosta hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 15:11 remaining.

The Tigers went ahead 52-51 when Scott Cunningham drained a three-pointer from the top of the circle, but Januik answered 32 seconds later to put the Bruins back in front.

Green-Richards led the Bruins with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, which earned him a spot on the all-classic team.

In the first game of the day, tournament MVP Andrew Romero poured in 40 points to lead Johnson & Wales University to a 94-87 victory over the University of Texas at Tyler.

Jontrell Herman, who also earned a spot on the all-classic team, finished with 12 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats.

All-tournament selection Darius Alford led the Patriots with 29 points.

Colorado College will be back in action next Friday and Saturday when the Tigers play host to Whittier College and UC Santa Cruz, respectively.