Ahmaad Cook led the Eagles with 27 points.
No. 11 Eagles Defeat No. 10 Knights
KIRKLAND, Wash. – Led by Ahmaad Cook’s (Los Angeles, Calif.) 27 points, including 7 three pointers, Northwest University defeated Warner Pacific, 86-74, in the battle of ranked teams. Northwest hit 15 of 34 treys for 44% while Warner Pacific buried 10 of 20 three pointers for 50% in a battle of the long ball.
In the first half, four lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the half showed the capacity crowd in the NU Pavilion they were in store for a closely contested game. At the 9:54 mark and clinging to a one point lead, 20-19, Northwest would go on a 5-0 run punctuated by Jordan Call’s 3 pointer to lead by six, 25-19, with 7:04 left in the half. A trey and two free throws by Call at the 4:43 mark would grow the NU lead to eight, 32-24. The Knights would answer with a 7-0 run as Stephen Harris would drain a three to make it 32-31 with 2:11 on the clock. Three straight treys, two by Ryan Dornik and one by Tyler Mendezona would give the Eagles a 38-34 lead at the break.
Northwest would manage to maintain their lead the entire second half. The game would remain close until the 13:14 mark when Rich Skillman would drill a 3 pointer followed by a steal by Skillman and layup and capped off by two Nemanja Grujicic free throws as the Eagles would lead 57-47 with 11:43 left in the game. WPC would pull to within eight, 73-65, with another Stephen Harris trey (73-65), but Ahmaad Cook would answer with a deep three to get the NU lead back to 11 points, 76-65 with 5:01 remaining. The Eagles would maintain their lead the remainder of the game as each time Warner Pacific would score, NU would answer. The Knights increased their pressure late in the game, but Northwest would handle the pressure and hit 6 for 8 of their free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
In addition to Cook’s 27, Northwest U. (23-2, 13-2 CCC) got 13 points from Jordan Call (Kirkland, Wash.), 12 points from Ryan Dornik (Vancouver, Wash.) off the bench and a double-double from Michael Greene (Bellingham, Wash.) who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. NU his 81% of their free throws (13 for 16) but lost the rebound battle to the Knights, 35-31.
Warner Pacific (19-5, 11-2 CCC) had five players in double figures: Dane Johnson and Biniam Tadele each had 14 points; William Sharp and Stephen Harris each scored 13 points; and Sean Gaines added 10 points for the Knights. Harris registered a double-double as he added 10 rebounds to his totals. WPC shot 50% for the game and an impressive 59% in the second half. The Knights shot 44% from the 3 point line and made 80% of the free throws (12-15).
“I continue to be proud of this group as their consistent play results in success for them,” stated John Van Dyke, Eagle head coach. “To have them perform like they did tonight, on senior night, in front of their families, our six seniors led by example finding the open man time after time and came up with key defensive plays when we needed them. The winning is a result of their unselfishness and effort.”
Northwest U. now goes on the road to Ashland and Klamath Falls, Oregon next weekend to face Southern Oregon (RV) and No. 2 Oregon Tech.