KIRKLAND, Wash. - No. 13 ranked Warner Pacific pulled away in the second half to defeat Northwest University, 82-64 tonight in the Cascade Conference’s final regular season game for both teams.

 

Northwest U. led Warner Pacific 10-8 when NU’s Greg George had to leave the game after catching an errant elbow which chipped one front tooth and loosened another. George was taken to the hospital for further treatment as the game resumed with 14:01 left in the first half. Two Eddie Coulson jumpers would increase NU’s lead to 14-8 with 13:20 left in the half. A Coulson 3-pointer would give the Eagles a 24-18 lead at the 11:02 mark but consecutive 3-pointers by Warner Pacific’s Aukai Wong and Tom Higgins would knot the score at 24 a piece with 8:57 remaining until halftime. NU would go on a 6-2 run capped off by Blake Solomon’s trey to lead 30-26 with 7:31 to go. But WPC would continue to battle back and Adam Moore’s 3-pointer with 3:41 left in the half would give the Knights their first lead at 38-37. Two free throws by Moore would increase WPC’s lead to ten, 47-37 with 1:49 left in the half. NU’s Daley Landon would bury a 3-pointer to pull the Eagles to within seven, 47-40, as the scoring would end for the first 20 minutes.

 

Warner Pacific would never trail in the second half and would begin pulling away from the depleted Eagles. A Kaylone Riley free throw would give the Knights a 58-45 lead with 14:54 to go in the half. A 3-pointer by WPC’s Tom Higgins would give the Knights their biggest lead of the night, 69-53, at the 11:04 mark and two more free throws by Kaylone Riley would increase their lead to 18 points, 71-53, with 9:33 ticks left on the clock. Warner Pacific would continue to hold the lead the remainder of the half as they would cruise to their 21^st win of the season.

 

Senior Eddie Coulson (N. Las Vegas, Nev.) led Northwest U. (13-16, 7-13 CCC) with 24 points while teammate Blake Solomon (Jr., Kent, Wash.) added 10 points for the Eagles. Sophomore Greg Peters (Belmont, St. Vincent) tied for game high honors in rebounds by grabbing 12 boards. NU shot 40% from 2-point range for the game, 32% from 3-point range.

 

“It was an up and down season for us, but I’m proud of the way our team carried itself throughout,” stated head coach John Van Dyke following the game. “Our guys never quit and maintained great attitudes all season long and our younger players gained valuable experience which will only help us next season. Losing Greg Spurgetis in December was a tough loss for us as he was an experienced, calming influence on the team. We’ll rebound and be back next season.”

 

Adam Moore had a game high 28 points for Warner Pacific (21-7, 14-6 CCC) while Aukai Wong dropped in 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Kaylone Riley grabbed 12 rebounds for the Knights who out rebounded Northwest, 38-35. WPC shot 44% from both 2-point and 3-point range on the night.

With the victory, Warner Pacific earns the #3 seed going into Wednesday’s first round of the CCC tournament and will face #6 seed Northwest Christian. Northwest U. ends its season as they lose a tiebreaker with Corban College for the #8 seed.