Warner Pacific Holds Off Northwest Comeback Bid
KIRKLAND, Wash. - Warner Pacific held off a late comeback attempt by Northwest U. to defeat the Eagles, 74-71, in Cascade Conference play tonight in the NU Pavilion.
In a tightly contested first half, neither team could score consistently as the game was tied 11-11 after nearly 12 minutes of play. Both teams would shoot an identical 27% on 8 for 29 shooting in the first half. Greg Peter’s jumper in the key would put Northwest U. up 19-14 with 3:39 remaining in the half, but a 5-1 run by Warner Pacific, capped off by a driving layup by Webster Moreland, would cut the Eagles’ lead to 20-19 with 1:33 left on the clock. Daley Landon would hit two free throws to put NU up, 22-19, with 1:05 on the clock, but WPC’s Sean Gaines would lay the ball in off an assist by teammate Josh Black with 8 seconds to go to make it a 22-21 score at halftime.
In the second half, neither team would gain the upper hand until Northwest U. would build a 7 point lead 37-30 on a Rich Skillman jumper at the 15:56 mark. NU would maintain a seven point lead until the 12:20 mark when Warner Pacific would go on a 7-2 run to tie the score at 47-all after a 3-pointer by the Knight’s Nick Schultens. Northwest would take a brief, 52-49 lead, but a 3-pointer by Traevone Bowie would tie the score again at 52-52. WPC would then go on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 63-52 lead with 6:38 left in the game, but NU would not go away easily and would begin to creep back into the contest and go on a 16-7 run of their own to cut the Knight’s lead to 70-68 with a 1:05 left on the clock. Daley Landon would have a chance to put NU into the lead, but his 3-point attempt would miss the mark. With WPC and 10 seconds remaining in the game, Warner Pac’s Sean Gaines would make one of two free throws to put the Knights up 73-70. Josh Black would foul NU’s Daley Landon with 2.5 seconds to go and Landon would make one free throw and would miss the second as the Eagles attempt for an offensive rebound would not materialize and WPC’s Andre Davis would pull down the rebound and make one of two from the charity stripe as the Knights would pull out the 74-71 victory.
For Northwest U. (12-5, 4-4 CCC), Jordan Call would end the night with 15 points. Senior Greg George would register a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while teammates Daley Landon and Rich Skillman would each contribute 11 points for the Eagles who shot 41% on the night and only 29% from beyond the 3-point arc (6-21).
Nick Schultens led Warner Pacific (11-7, 4-4 CCC) with his game high 17 points. Traevone Bowie scored 15 points, Webster Moreland 12 points and 10 rebounds and Andre Davis dropped in 10 points for the Knights. WPC shot 40% from 2-point range and 30% from the 3-point line. The Knights outrebounded Northwest, 45-41, including 16 offensive rebounds.
Northwest U. will remain home and host Concordia tomorrow night and Warner Pacific travels to Olympia to take on the Evergreen State College. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. tip offs.