LACEY, Wash. – Senior Wyatt Taboh-Graziano scored a season-high 21 points but it wasn’t enough as the Beacons fell to St. Martin’s University on Tuesday night, 74-66.
NCU gave up 55% shooting to the Saints who pulled away after a closely fought contest. Head Coach Corey Anderson said, “We didn’t play the best defense that we have this season, but we were still able to put ourselves in great position by cutting it to a two-possession game with about three minutes to play. Unfortunately, we didn’t execute offensively nor did we handle the ‘end game’ pressure well.”
The Beacons (3-3) were led by Taboh-Graziano who shot 7-for-11 from the field and added a game-high eight rebounds. Jordan Buhler added ten points while starting Point Guard Jordan Myers contributed five assists and four steals. Tyler Fox, Travis Pacos, and Darrell Risen all came off the bench with eight points. For Risen it was a career-high as he shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
St. Martin’s (3-2) had four players in double-figures led by 19 from Roger O’Neill. Evan Coulter went 8-for-11 for 18 points while Matt Dodson chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. Rei Jensen scored ten points and Brady Bomber chipped in a game-high six assists.
NCU will be back in action this weekend with a Friday night contest against Hope International University at 7:00 pm and a Saturday meeting with William Jessup at 7:30 pm. The Beacons will offer free admission to anyone presenting a ‘Black Friday’ shopping receipt.