NU's Michael Greene and SOU's Jordan Highland tip it off.
Northwest Breaks Tie with Southern Oregon
KIRKLAND, Wash. - No. 12 Northwest University rebounded from last night’s loss with an 87-73 victory over Southern Oregon. The win breaks a tie for third place in the Cascade Conference as both teams came into tonight’s game with identical 6-2 league marks.
Michael Greene’s layup in the paint would give Northwest a 13-7 lead with 14:46 showing on the clock. The Eagles’ lead was short lived as Southern would come back to tie the game at 13-13 as Terriel Thomas drove to the basket for a score (13:44). NU would then mount a 11-0 run to lead 24-13 after Tyler Mendezona drained a trey at the 11:09 mark. Another run by Northwest, this time 8 to 1, would give them their largest lead of the half, 18 points (34-16) with 7:30 remaining until the half. SOU would end the half with a 6-0 run of their own with a layup by Jeff Bush, a 3 pointer by Time Weber and Thomas would hit one of two free throws to end the half with NU leading, 43-33.
In the second half, Northwest would maintain a lead until the 12:11 mark when Southern Oregon would pull to within 5 points, 53-48, punctuated by Jordan Highland’s driving layup on the left side. But, the Eagles would gain momentum and make an 18-4 run on the Raiders to build a 19 point, 71-52 lead with 6:36 to go in the contest. Two Eric Thompson free throws would cut the Eagle lead to 9 points, 77-68, with 1:53 remaining, but NU would hit a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line to close out the game for their 17th win of the season.
Senior Tyler Mendezona led Northwest U. 17-2, 7-2 CCC) with 19 points. Four other Eagles registered double figures with Michael Greene’s 18 points, Jordan Call with 15, Ahmaad Cook scoring 13 points and Rich Skillman contributing 11 points. Cook scored a double-double on the night as he added 10 rebounds to his totals. NU shot and impressive 57% on the night and 30% from beyond the 3 point arc.
Southern Oregon’s (13-7, 6-3 CCC) Jordan Highland had a game high 20 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Eric Thompson scored 17 points before fouling out and Kyle Tedder added 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Raiders. SOU out rebounded Northwest, 34-32, with 10 offensive rebounds. Southern hit 42% of their shots and converted 74% of their free throws (17-23).
“I’m very proud of the way we rebounded after such an emotional game last night,” stated Eagle head coach, John Van Dyke. “The guys really wanted to win tonight and gave a solid effort.”