Knights Give Eastern Oregon a Sharp Point
PORTLAND, Ore. – William Sharp scored 18 points and handed out 11 assists to lead 17th ranked Warner Pacific past #21 ranked Eastern Oregon 89-78 in a clash of two of the CCC’s best teams tonight at Bart Valentine Court.
On a night dubbed “Playing for Kickz” to collect shoes for needy kids, the crowd was treated to an exciting matchup. Free admission was granted for any fan who donated a new or gently used pair of shoes to the Hope4Hoopers organization.
The host Knights (7-2, 2-0 CCC) led nearly start to finish, but Eastern Oregon (7-3, 1-1 CCC) was never out of the game and were within four points with 7:37 to play.
In the first half, Warner Pacific used a 6-0 run capped by a Stephen Harris bucket to build an 18-10 lead. EOU battled back within a single bucket (30-28) thanks to an Ervin Fielder score with 4:34 on the first period clock. Later, Biniam Tadele would hit a jump shot inside the final minute to send Warner Pacific to the locker room with a 40-33 lead.
After the break the Knights looked to gain control after a 10-2 burst made the score 54-43 in their favor, but EOU responded with seven consecutive points of their own. The momentum swung to WPC in a wild stretch of action, started by a hustle play from Doug Thomas who tracked down a long rebound and kicked a pass ahead to Sean Gaines who scored a lay-in. Moments later Sharp found Gaines again for a crowd pleasing dunk on a fast break opportunity.
Those plays gave WP an 11 point advantage, but EOU still did not give up and later trimmed the lead back down to four on a Trent Roos trey – one of his four makes from distance on the night. The Knights held EOU at bay down the stretch with a pair of field goals from Gaines and Harris, all assisted by William Sharp who sliced through the Mountie defense when it counted to set up easy looks for teammates.
Biniam Tadele led Warner Pacific with 21 points on the night, including 8 of 9 makes from the free throw line. William Sharp added the aforementioned 18 points and 11 assists – with no turnovers. Gaines contributed a season high of 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
EOU’s Trent Roos ranged inside and out for 25 points, including several acrobatic drives to lead all scorers. Tavares Peterson hit 4 of 5 tries from beyond the arc to add 18 points.