Box Score
ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Northwest Christian University men's basketball team trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half but came back strong before falling, 57-53 to Cal State Maritime on Friday afternoon. It was the opening game in the Bill Holtz Warrior Classic, hosted by William Jessup University. 

Head Coach Corey Anderson said, "Maritime forced us into 28 turnovers. They are a very disciplined team that was able expose our youth. While I'm proud that we were able to battle back in the second half, we dug ourselves into too deep a hole to come back from. None of us like to lose but this will be a good experience for us to learn from."

The Beacons trailed buzzer-to-buzzer on Friday after falling behind early, 22-5. The Beacons got as close as ten during the first half before taking a 34-20 deficit into the second half. 

The Keelhaulers continue to control the game after the break, and were ahead 43-24 with 13:42 to play. Buckets by Greg Shepard and Trevor Parker on the Beacons next two possessions sparked an 11-2 run that made it 45-35 with 8:44 remaining, 

The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes and CSUM found themselves ahead 53-39 with 5:21 remaining. The Beacons, however, were not finished. Travis Pacos hit a three-pointer and a pair-of-free throws on back-to-back trips up the court and NCU was within nine points. The Haulers scored again, and the Beacons were trailing 57-46 with 1:17 to play. 

NCU then had one final burst, closing out the game on a 7-0 run, capped off by back to back layups by Brody McGowan.

The Beacons (1-2) were led by freshman Pacos, scoring 14 points off the bench. Brody McGowan added a double-double, scoring ten points to go with eleven rebounds. NCU shot 33% in the game and had 28 turnovers, but did out-rebound CSUM, 42-34. 

Maritime (3-1) was led by Isaiah Moore with 12 points and nine rebounds. Danile St. Hubert scored eight points off the bench. 

NCU returns to action on Saturday night, taking on host William Jessup at 7:00 pm.