PORTLAND, Ore. – In a matter of 28 hours the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team went from sole possession of first place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference to sole possession of sixth, falling to Warner Pacific College on Saturday night, 59-55.
 
For the second straight night the Beacons lost a road game despite holding their foe to 40% shooting or less. NCU shot 45% themselves while out-rebounding the Knights, 34-27.
 
A major adjustment to the starting lineup saw NCU go big to open the game with all three post players (6'7" Jay Mayernik, 6'8" Omar Richards, and 6'9" Austin Kuemper) on the floor together. The shift seemed to work in NCU's favor at first with the Beacons jumping out to a 12-7 lead behind ten points from Kuemper. The visitors led by as many as six before taking a 30-25 lead at the intermission.
 
The second half saw the Beacons stretch their lead to 35-28 with 16:53 to play after a jumper from Richards. Warner Pacific, however, climbed back into the game on the back of their wings. Four three-pointers in a six minute span brought the Knights all the way back within one, 41-40 with 10:18 to play.
 
WPC claimed the lead on their next possession and after trading leads, Warner Pac claimed the lead for good with 4:34 to play as Doug Thomas drained a triple. After a Beacon turnover it was Earl Jones' turn, making it 53-47 with his own from behind the arch.
 
NCU still had life and, fueled by five Javonte Byrd points, went on an 8-2 stretch of the next two minutes, tying the game at 55-55 with 1:08 to go.
 
Coleton Tarr connected on a jumper on the Knights next possession, giving Warner Pacific their final lead. A Beacon turnover and missed jumper proved to be NCU's demise as WPC iced the game with two late free throws for the four-point win.
 
The Beacons (11-5, 4-3 CCC) were once again led by Kuemper, scoring 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting. It was the fourth straight game with at least 20 points for the reigning CCC Player of the Week. Nobody else scored more than seven for NCU. Mayernik and Richards (pictured) combined to score 12 points.
 
Warner Pacific (15-4, 5-2) was led by Jones, finishing with 16 points. Tarr and Thomas added ten points apiece. Josh Black never scored by led all players with seven assists and Keaton Bankofier came off the bench to score nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Northwest Christian will be back in action on Friday, returning to the Morse Event Center to take on Eastern Oregon University at 7:30 p.m.