EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men’s basketball team put the brakes on a ten-game losing streak on Friday night, knocking off The Evergreen State College, 73-62.
Evergreen jumped out to an early 6-0 lead but the Beacons answered with a 22-2 run, blowing out to a large lead which they would never relinquish. NCU led by as many as 18 points in the second half and the Geoducks would only climb to within ten points on one occasion over the final ten minutes.
NCU shot 51% from the field in the game and survived a 52-37 rebounding advantage by Evergreen and a 8-for-21 night at the free-throw line. The Beacons forced 20 turnovers while coughing up the ball just ten times and the defense held ESC to just 35% shooting on the night.
Evergreen (2-16, 1-9) was led by Frankie Johnson, scoring a game-high 19 points, adding four assists. Travis Wagner hit four three-pointers to finish with 14 points and Cody Peters collected seven points and a game-high eleven rebounds.
The Beacons (8-14, 2-8) had three players in double-figures, led by Jordan Buhler (pictured) who shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field to score 18 points. The senior added eight rebounds and five assists, both of which led NCU. Trevor Parker added 16 points and Brody McGowan came off the bench to score 13 points and six rebounds. The NCU reserves out-scored the Evergreen bench, 23-12.
Northwest Christian ends the longest losing streak in school history with the win and jumps into a tie with Corban University and Oregon Tech for seventh-place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The top eight teams qualify for the CCC Post-season tournament.
NCU and Evergreen will both be back in action at 7:30 pm on Saturday night. The Geoducks travel to Salem to take on Corban University while NCU will be paid a visit by No. 15 Northwest University.