Box Score EUGENE, Ore. – Every season is defined by signature moments. The Northwest Christian University men's basketball team had such a moment tonight as they defeated a strong Eastern Oregon University team, 68-67 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from freshman Point Guard Kenny Blackwell.
 
The Beacons controlled the game on Saturday and led by as many as 15 points early in the second half.  The Mounties never backed down however and steadily climbed back into the contest, taking a brief 61-60 lead with 4:12 remaining.  NCU answered with a three-point play from Blackwell and NCU was soon ahead by two, 65-63 with under a minute to play.
 
EOU senior Case Rada had hit the Mounties only three-pointer earlier in the half and the second couldn't have come at a better time. With 15 seconds to play, Rada banked one in to give Eastern the 66-65 advantage.
 
Northwest Christian was unfruitful on their following possession, forcing them to send junior Trell Washington to the free-throw line with 5.5 seconds to play. Washington hit just one-of-two at the charity stripe to set up the final play. Jack Hackman inbounded the ball to Austin Kuemper who crossed the timeline and made a quick pass to Blackwell, who put up the desperation heave for the victory.
 
Head Coach Luke Jackson said, "We were trying to get Kenny the ball in the back court and drew up a simple play where he was to head for the rim or dish it out for a three, but Eastern put two guys on him. We run a last-second drill in practice where the big guy flashes to the middle and there's a long pass. It wasn't exactly how we drew it up but thank goodness Austin and Kenny were able to connect."
 
The Beacons (9-4, 3-1 CCC) ended the night shooting 42%. Four players were in double-figures for NCU, led by Kuemper who scored 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Omar Richards added a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards and Blackwell finished with 14 points, getting three assists and three steals to lead the team. Javonte Byrd scored eleven and Hackman finished with eight, nailing a pair of three-pointers.
 
Eastern Oregon (6-8, 2-2) shot 43% and out-rebounded the home team 43-34, but a 2-for-17 night from outside the arc proved to be too difficult to overcome. Washington, the top scorer in the Cascade Conference, had gone 0-for-6 in the first half with just one point in the first half but finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Kalvin Johanson also scored 16, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. Rada added 15 points and a game-high four assists.
 
"It was nice to not lose a game like this, which seemed to happen a lot last year," said Jackson. "As well as we have played, our bench continues to grow but we still have some moments when we can't score. It doesn't matter if you win ugly, a win is a win and every game is so important in this conference.
 
NCU will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Salem to take on Corban University (6-4, 2-2), 93-88 winners over No. 18 College of Idaho no Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
 
Eastern is off until December 30 when they return home to take on Northwest University at 7:30 pm.