EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men’s basketball team finished out the calendar year on Wednesday with a decisive 87-56 win over Walla Walla University in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. Senior Austin Kuemper (pictured) did most a lot of the dirty work early, finishing with 25 points to lead all scorers.
Keumper scored as many points in the first half (22) as the entire Wolves team, shooting 9-for-11 from the field as the Beacons took a 48-22 lead into halftime. When all was said and done, the Beacons (11-4, 5-1 CCC) shot 56% from the field, claimed 11 steals and out-rebounded WWU 34-27.
Walla Walla (2-11, 0-5) shot 40% and used a combined 36 points from Josh Hough and Ethan Osias to try and keep it competitive. Osias finished with 19 points, shooting 5-for-9 from three-point range and leading the team with six rebounds. Hough was 8-for-11, scoring 17.
Keumper ended the night shooting 10-for-13 from the field including a perfect 4-for-4 effort from three-point range. Jack Hackman was close behind with 17 points adding a trio of three-pointers. Kenny Blackwell had just two points on the night for the Beacons, but led all players with eight assists and was one of four different players to grab two steals.
NCU went deep on Wednesday with all 12 suited players seeing action. The Beacon bench outscored the Walla Walla reserves 39-12, led by a 14-point, 11-rebound effort from Jay Mayernik. Donta Harris added nine points and Austin Tyner scored eight with each player connecting on a pair of treys.
The Beacons, currently receiving votes in the NAIA national coaches poll, remain in third place in the CCC and are expected by many to return to the Top-25 when the next poll is released on January 5. The next game for the Beacons will be in Washington on January 8 when the Beacons travel to face Northwest University (6-9, 2-3) at 7:30 pm.