EUGENE, Ore. – Sophomore Jack Hackman hit a buzzer-beating put-back lifting the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team to another thrilling victory over Southern Oregon on Friday night, 66-64. It was the fourth straight win for the Beacons over their rivals from Ashland.
 
Southern Oregon, ranked No. 16 in the NAIA national coaches' poll, led for most of the game, including 18 ½ minutes during the second half. Trailing 59-58, Javonte Byrd got a steal from Jordan West and created his own layup at the other end to give the Beacons the lead.
 
A free-throw on each end led to a Southern Oregon possession with under a minute to play. As they had done all night, Tim Weber connected with West for a layup and the Raiders claimed a 62-61 lead with 44 seconds to play.
 
Michael Loomis hit a three-pointer for NCU with 27 seconds to play as the Beacons took a two-point lead. Instead of letting the clock run down for a final shot, SOU's Weber found the bottom of the net with a layup with 12 seconds to play, tying the game at 64-64 and setting up the Beacons for one final possession.
 
The last three meetings in the Morse Event Center between the Cascade Collegiate Conference combatants had gone to overtime and as Travis Pacos missed a jumper in the paint with time running out, this one looked to be headed to an extra frame as well. Hackman, however, had other plans, streaking unguarded through the lane to tap in the improbable game-winner as the buzzer sounded.
 
Austin Kuemper led the Beacons (10-3, 3-1 CCC) with 25 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the field with seven rebounds as NCU jumped into first place in the Cascade Conference. Pacos was the only other Beacon in double-digits with 11 points, adding three steals. Byrd added nine points while Hackman and Loomis each scored eight off the bench.
 
Southern Oregon shot 53% in the game and had four players reach double-digits in scoring. West went 7-for-11 to finish with 16 points and Weber completed a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. Eric Thompson, the leading scorer in the CCC was held to just a pair of free-throws in the second half, scoring 13 along with a team-best five rebounds. Ben DeSaulnier scored 12 points off the bench.
 
Northwest Christian will look to make it three straight conference wins on Saturday night, playing host to Oregon Tech. The Raiders will travel to Salem to take on Corban University. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tip-offs.