EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University men's basketball team quickly overcame an early deficit to steamroll the Corban University Warriors on Wednesday night claiming a deceptively close 83-71 victory.
 
After the Warriors built an early 19-12 lead, NCU came alive, finishing off the first half with a 33-11 streak over the final eight minutes.
 
The 15-point halftime lead turned into a 34-point lead, 69-35 when Malik Heptot hit a layup with 12:22 to play. The Beacon starters were then able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, getting plenty of rest as the contest was well in hand.
 
No NCU player saw more than 20 minutes on the court as the NCU reserves finished the night with more playing time than the five starters. One of those reserves, junior Michael Loomis, tied for the team high in scoring with 15 points, shooting 3-for-5 from three-point range.
 
Kenny Blackwell also scored 15 and hit three from deep and Brendyn Taylor (pictured) punched in 15 as well. Senior Jay Mayernik scored just four points in his limited court time, but added eight rebounds and four assists to lead all players.
 
Corban (13-10, 6-7 CCC) was led by AJ Monterossi and Toby Roth, scoring 11 points each. Jake Love added ten points, hitting a pair of late three-pointers when the game was already out of reach. No player for the Warriors had more than four rebounds or two assists.
 
The Beacons (17-3, 11-2) push their winning streak to nine straight games and remain in first place in the Cascade Conference, holding a 1 ½ game lead over Eastern Oregon.