EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men’s basketball team was defeated on Saturday night by No. 20 Warner Pacific, 86-79.
After the Knights opened the game on a 14-0 run, holding NCU without a field goal for the first seven minutes, the Beacons slowly climbed back in, eventually taking a fleeting 41-40 lead early in the first half on a Tyrus Hosley three-pointer.
WPU built their advantage back to seven before a 10-0 NCU run gave the home team a three-point advantage. The Beacons led by as many as five, but the Knights continued to peck away before taking their final lead of the night on a field goal from Collin Malcolm with 1:18 to play.
Warner Pacific connected on four of five free-throws over the final 30 second to seal the win.
The Knights (11-6, 3-4 CCC) shot 52% from the field, out-rebounded the Beacons 42-28 and survived 20 turnovers and nine NCU steals. Malcolm and Jalen Ballard finished with team-highs at 17 points apiece while Gabe Garrett added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Beacons (13-4, 5-2) were just 5-for-21 from three-point range and fell from first-place to third in the CCC. Davonte Cleveland was the top scorer off the bench collecting 22 points and five rebounds before fouling out in the final minute on a technical foul that helped extend the Knight’s late lead. Hosley finished with 18 points and a game-high five assists while Austin Tyner scored 17 and led all players with four steals. Zach Sly played a big role off the bench, coming up with 12 points as he was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Northwest Christian will have another big weekend on their hands as they travel to face No. 13 Southern Oregon on Friday and No. 24 Oregon Tech on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 pm. The Knights will return home on Friday to face No. 1 ranked College of Idaho.