EUGENE, Ore.  – First-Year Head Coach Heath Alexander has the first signature win of his career at NCU after the Beacons upset No. 13 Southern Oregon University on Friday night, 95-92.
 
Both teams shot over 50% on the night as the Beacons (5-7, 1-3 CCC) posted a season-best 56.7% clip, their highest shooting percentage in over two years. The Raiders (12-2, 3-2 CCC) shot 52.2% and owned a 37-31 edge in the rebounding battle.
 
Alexander said, "We have spent so much time in practice playing together and they did that tonight. We had 22 assists which is a huge improvement and reflects how we have been playing as a unit and not as individuals."
 
SOU dominated the early part of the game, jumping out to a 19-11 lead with 14:37 remaining in the first half. The Beacons never slowed down and eventually crawled back to tie the game 27-27 on a three-pointer from Allie Kelsey. The Raiders were able to get the lead back and claimed a 52-46 advantage at the intermission.
 
NCU challenged the entire second half but were unable to get on top for over 17 minutes. The Beacons climbed to within one on two occasions and tied the game at 71-71 with 9:52 to play but each time the home team got close, the Raiders would pull back ahead.
 
With just under seven minutes to play, Southern Oregon looked to have finally gained control with a 80-73 lead. The Beacons mounted yet another rally and after a 13-5 run trailed again by one, 86-85 with under four to play.
 
The Beacons took a brief lead, 87-86 after a pair of free-throws from Hannah Frederick but SOU claimed the lead back on their next possession with a jumper from Courtney West. A Beacon turnover and foul let Alexi Smith put down a pair of free-throws for a three-point Southern Oregon lead, but Chandler Gabrio got both points back with two freebies of her own and the Beacons trailed 90-89 with 1:37 remaining.
 
Southern Oregon missed two opportunities on the offensive end and the Beacons got the ball back with a chance to take the lead. An errant deep shot rattled off the rim and headed out of bounds when Kelsey made an improbable diving rebound, passing the ball right into the hands of Sami Pitts. Pitts wasted no time, launching a three-pointer for her first bucket of the game, lifting NCU to a 92-90 advantage and their first lead since the opening seconds of the game.
 
Alexander said, "Early on I talked about rebounding and hustle plays and I told them I wanted us to be the team that when it was on the line we were going to get a rebound or get the loose ball. Allie just went all out to get that ball. It was a back-breaker for them and a huge momentum shift for us."
 
SOU tied the game with a Smith layup on their next possession, but NCU would go on to hit three free-throws on three separate possessions in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory.
 
The 95 points were the most scored by the Beacons in a CCC game dating back to a 103-95 win over Cascade College in NCU's first ever CCC game in 2007. 22 of them came from Andrea Gloss (pictured), shooting 11-for-17 from the field with five rebounds. Frederick scored 18, adding nine assists, many coming off quick passes through the lane to open Gloss for layups. "Hannah and Andrea were a great combo tonight," said Alexander. "Every day we do a guard-run/post-run drill in practice and it's essentially a conditioner and all of a sudden there it was in the game."

Melyssa Weber finished her night with 17 points and five assists. Coming off the bench, Gabrio scored a double-double with 15 points and a game-high ten rebounds. The Beacon reserves ended the night outscoring their SOU counterparts, 30-23.
 
Southern Oregon also had four players in double figures led by the game-high 26 from Smith. Courtney West came off the bench to score 20 points and Kristen Schoenherr finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Autumn Durand scored 13 points and led the Raiders with eight rebounds.
 
NCU returns to action on Saturday night, playing host to Oregon Tech at 5:30 p.m. Southern Oregon will be in Salem to take on Corban, also with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.