CALDWELL, Idaho – After holding a lead with just nine minutes to play, the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team let an upset slip through their fingers on Friday night, falling to No. 4 College of Idaho, 70-66. Senior Travis Pacos provided the silver lining, hitting the 1000-point mark for his career.
 
Senior guard Demetrius Perkins scored a game-high 19 points for the Yotes in a rematch of the 2013-14 Cascade Conference Tournament championship game inside a packed J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
 
The C of I (23-4, 13-2) held a 34-30 lead at the intermission, but the Beacons did everything in their power to keep the game from getting out of hand. Javonte Byrd drilled three of his game-high 19 points with just under 12-minutes remaining to give the Beacons (16-9, 9-7) their first lead of the second half. NCU did not give up the lead for the next three minutes until Eugene native Manny Morgan hit a go-ahead triple to give C of I back the lead.
 
With both squads tied at 53 with just over five-minutes to play, the Coyotes used a 9-2 run fueled by a pair of baskets from 3-point territory to grab the lead for good.
 
The Beacons attempted a dramatic comeback in the final twenty seconds, canning three triples but Perkins and Sydney Donaldson combined to make six game-clinching free throws to secure the Coyote victory.
 
The Beacons won the battle of the boards, 39-32 and host 45% from three-point range, but 16 turnovers led to nine Yote steals as the hosts survived a 55% night at the free-throw line.
 
Jack Hackman came off the bench to score 15 points, shooting 4-for-6 from three-point range and Pacos scored 13 points, giving him 1,001 points during his four seasons. He becomes the sixth Beacon on record to hit the milestone. 
 
The Beacons return to action on Saturday night, traveling to face Eastern Oregon University at 7:30 p.m.