ROCKLIN, Calif. – The Northwest Christian University men’s basketball team closed out the Bill Holtz Warrior Classic on Saturday night with a win, knocking off host William Jessup, 65-62. The win helped NCU get the sour taste out of their mouths from a difficult loss to Cal Maritime on Friday night.
Head Coach Luke Jackson said, “After setting basketball back 30 years in the second half against Maritime, I was very proud of the way we came together and bounced back tonight. We were executing, we were patient and it was a good road win.”
The Beacons shot 44% in the game and survived a well-disciplined Warrior team that had just eight turnovers and fought from beginning to end in front of a raucous home crowd.
After a pair of early free-throws from Austin Kuemper (pictured), it was the Warriors who took control of the game early on as they built a 20-11 lead through the first ten minutes. Then, fueled by three-pointers from Coleton Baker and Harley Turner, the Beacons worked their way to a 14-4 run to take back the lead at 25-24. NCU held a 31-30 advantage at the intermission.
Although they never trailed in the second-half, the Beacons couldn’t shake WJU. A Baker three-pointer at the 14:30 mark gave NCU a six-point lead, 41-35 but the Warriors were soon right back in it and down just one with 10:15 remaining as Kelton Newman hit a trey.
The Beacons once again built the lead up to its largest point, 61-53 with just 1:55 to play but seven unanswered points got Jessup to within two, 61-59 with less than a minute to play. NCU, however, sank four straight free throws and forced two crucial turnovers in the final moments to hang on for the victory.
Spencer Coleman once again led the offense for NCU (2-1), scoring a double-double with game highs of 23 points and ten rebounds. The senior shot 6-for-11 from the field including a 3-for-6 clip from three-point range. Baker finished with 14 points and six assists before fouling out and Forest Stolk ended the night with 12 points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor. Kuemper also ended the night with 12 points, throwing in ten boards as the Beacons out-rebounded WJU, 32-28.
William Jessup (2-2), who had knocked off No. 21 Oregon Tech on Friday night, was led by Newman and Corey Clement, each finishing with 13 points. Caleb Richey scored seven points and had a game-high nine assists.
NCU will return to the court next Saturday, traveling to Portland to take on Multnomah University (3-4), a team that is averaging 112 points per game while allowing 114. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4:00 pm and will be broadcast live on All Comedy 1450 AM, and on the internet via tunein radio.