EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 10 NCU men's basketball continues to find new ways to win. Tonight it was four points in the final 2 seconds, all from senior Javonte Byrd, as the Beacons overcame the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers for a 77-76 victory. NCU has now won 10 straight.
 
Trailing 76-73 with time running out, Byrd drained a game-tying three-pointer with two seconds to play. After a timeout, Eastern Oregon managed to throw their in-bound pass off the gymnasium lights, turning the ball over to NCU without taking any time off the clock.
 
NCU drew up another play to Byrd, this time from inside the arch, and the senior guard was fouled on the play. With 0.8 ticks on the clock, Byrd hit the first free-throw for the lead and intentionally missed the second to kill the rest of the clock.
 
The Beacons (17-4, 10-1 CCC) were led by Byrd, who finished with 20 points. Omar Richards added 13, Austin Kuemper scored 12 and Kenny Blackwell posted 11 along with a team-high five assists. Jay Mayernik added 10 points off the bench before fouling out.
 
NCU shot 45% from the field and were 6-for-10 in the second half from three-point range as they overcame a 35-31 halftime deficit.
 
Eastern Oregon (11-11, 6-6 CCC) had four players in double-figures, led by Case Rada's game-high 22 points. Trell Washington added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Kalvin Johanson scored 11 points with six blocks. Travis Meeker scored ten points in the loss. EOU shot 52% in the game, and outrebounded the Beacons, 37-33.
 
The Beacons will return to action on Saturday night, facing off against The College of Idaho in the Stretch Internet NAIA Division II Game of the Week at 4:30 pm (PST).