EUGENE, Ore. – It wasn't easy but the top-seeded Beacons got the job done on Wednesday night, defeated No. 8 seed Northwest University, 66-60 in the quarterfinals of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Tournament presented by U.S. Bank.
 
NCU overcame a 31-30 halftime deficit and went on to seal the win with free throws, hitting 5-of-7 in the final minute. The Beacons (25-6) move within one victory of tying the school high water mark for victories, set in 2001.
 
After battling through two early ties it was Northwest that emerged as the leader early on, building a 16-10 advantage with 14:27 to play in the first half. The six-point lead would amount the biggest of the night for the visitors as NCU slowly crept back into the game, taking a 23-21 lead on a Jay Mayernik layup with 8:07 to play. The Eagles continued to battle and took back the lead before the half ended, 31-30.
 
Javonte Byrd briefly gave the Beacons a lead on the opening possession of the second half. Two lead changes and two ties later, NCU went on a 9-2 run and led 45-38 with 12:54 to play.
 
The Eagles, however, had one more run in them. Still trailing by seven points at the 8-minute mark, Ben Tucakovic launched Northwest on a 10-2 spurt, scoring eight points before Dak Shagren hit a triple to give them a 52-51 lead with 6:03 remaining.
 
The lead was very brief, however, as Jack Hackman answered the 3-pointer with one of his own, giving the Beacons the advantage for good.
 
The Beacons were led by Omar Richards (pictured), scoring 22 points and seven rebounds. Hackman scored 14 points, hitting four treys, and Byrd finished with 13 points.
 
Tucakovic led the Eagles (12-19), scoring a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds. Junior Michael Dupree added 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Northwest finished the night with a 45-36 advantage on the boards, but it wasn't enough as they shot just 25.6% in the second half.
 
The Beacons move on to the semifinals on Saturday night where they will face off against a recent foe in fifth-seed Oregon Tech. The Owls handed NCU the teams' only home loss of the season last Saturday, and will come into the game as winners of four straight games.
 
The other semifinal will feature #3 seed Warner Pacific traveling to face #2 seed Southern Oregon. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 pm.