EUGENE, Ore.  – Junior Austin Kuemper (pictured) poured in 25 points on Friday night, leading the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team to a 76-60 victory over the University of British Columbia in their season opener.
 
Getting their legs under them early, the Beacons traded leads with the Thunderbirds four times in the first seven minutes. After UBC tied the game at 23-23 on a Conor Morgan dunk with 6:30 remaining, NCU took the lead for good, using a Kuemper jumper to spark an 9-1 run. NCU carried a 36-29 lead into the intermission.
 
The Beacons quickly made it a ten-point lead early in the second half and had stretched the lead to 46-33 when a three-point play by Jordan Jensen-Whyte created a 46-36 NCU lead with 16:49 to play. Over the next seven minutes the Northwest Christian defense clamped down, allowing just one field goal as they used a 14-2 run to go ahead by 22 points, 60-38.
 
The Thunderbirds made things interesting over the final ten minutes, climbing to within 12 points after a 10-0 run, but NCU stabilized and sprinted to the finish line for the debut victory.
 
Head Coach Luke Jackson said, "This was a good team win. The big emphasis before the game was to compete and to box out because they are such a big team. It ended up being a bad match-up for them because we are so quick."
 
Northwest Christian (1-0) shot 54% in the second half and 48% for the game while holding UBC to just 8-for-22 shooting in the second half and a 40% clip in the contest. The Beacons out-rebounded their foe 37-31 and hit five three-pointers. British Columbia was just 1-for-14 from behind the arch.
 
Kuemper was simply dominant, posting 15 of his points in the second half as NCU pulled away. The pre-season All-CCC selection shot 11-for-17 from the floor and added 12 rebounds for the double-double. Michael Loomis made an impressive NCU debut, scoring 15 points with a trio of three-pointers and five rebounds.
 
Jack Hackman and Travis Pacos punched in eight points apiece with Pacos picking up five rebounds and five assists. Freshman Jordan Alexander put on a Beacon uniform for the first time and made the most of it, scoring 8 points in 23 minutes of work off the bench. He shot 6-for-7 at the free-throw line and added four assists.
 
"It was a collective effort tonight," said Jackson, "and that is what it's going to take to win in the conference."
 
British Columbia (4-2) was led by Tonner Jackson, scoring 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Jensen-Whyte added 13 and Morgan finished with 12.
 
Next up for NCU is an exhibition game against the University of Oregon at 7 p.m. next Tuesday in a game that will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.