In a battle of top teams in their respective divisions, Northwest Christian University snagged an overtime road victory on Friday night, 92-80 over the University of British Columbia.
The Beacons (4-0) are the No. 12 ranked team in NAIA Division II while the Thunderbirds (3-1) are currently No. 2 in the CIS, the highest collegiate division in Canada.
Home team rules meant the game was played in four ten minute quarters, instead of the traditional pair of 20-minute halves as NCU plays in the states. The Beacons used the forced breaks at each ten-minute mark to their advantage.
The Thunderbirds rolled out to a 12-11 lead after the first quarter, but the Beacons immediately responded with a 9-0 run to open the second. NCU eventually took a 31-24 lead into halftime, despite shooting 0-for-7 from three-point range.
UBC cut into the lead in the third quarter and used a late fourth-quarter run to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Already without the services of sophomore point guard Kenny Blackwell, and missing senior Jay Mayernik who fouled out late in the fourth, NCU posted 20 points in the overtime period anyway, shooting 6-for-7 from the field to secure the 12-point win.
Brendyn Taylor had his most prolific night so far, scoring a team-high 25 points as he shot 11-for-18 from the floor. He also had four of the teams 12 steals. Anthony Walker made his official NCU debut, shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range and scoring 20. Spencer Mattox, seeing extended minutes at point guard, scored 16 points off the bench.
Jack Hackman and Jay Mayernik each scored ten points with Mayernik adding nine rebounds. Freshman Kylor Kelley had an impressive night defensively, collecting 11 rebounds and a school-record six blocked shots. He added nine points.
Conor Morgan was busy for the Thunderbirds, taking 20 shot attempts as he scored a game-best 27 points. Taylor Browne added 12 points and Phil Jalalpoor scored 11 points and eight assists.
The teams will do battle one more time, facing off at 5:00 pm on Saturday.