EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men’s basketball team led by as many as twelve points early in the second half but had withstand a late charge from Hope International University to claim a 65-63 victory on Friday night.
NCU held a 36-27 advantage on the NAIA Division I school at halftime and held a 43-31 advantage for their biggest lead of the night at the 18:20 mark of the second half. The Royals, however, chipped away and eventually would tie the game at 55-55 with less than five minutes to play.
The Beacons hung on for the win, despite shooting just 45% at the free-throw line in the game, missing numerous opportunities to put the game away in the final minutes.
Head Coach Corey Anderson said, “Our offense started off with a good flow tonight which helped us defensively. We had some confident stretches. What really hurt us tonight were our free-throws. We need to grow up at the free-throw line. We allowed a few missed tonight to affect the next guy and the next guy. What came down to a one-possession game should have been a ten-point game.”
Northwest Christian (4-3) was led by Wyatt Taboh-Graziano, scoring a team-high 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, adding a team-best eight rebounds. Jordan Buhler scored 12 points and added four assists without a turnover in the game. Tyler Fox scored nine points, all in the first half while Greg Shepard and Jordan Myers (pictured) added eight points apiece. Myers posted a game-high five assists.
Hope International (5-1) drops their first game of the season, despite having four players score in double-figures. Leading the way was Garrett Neilan’s game-high 18 points, 14 of which were scored in the first half. Orlando Collins threw in a double-double with 12 points and a game-high ten rebounds and Kris Rosales scored 11 points with four assists. Jeremy Kilgore also scored 12 points for the Royals.
NCU will return to action on Saturday night to face William Jessup University at 7:30 pm.