EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University men's basketball team put together a game for the ages on Saturday night, taking down Warner Pacific College 94-74 to clinch at least a share of the Cascade Conference regular season championship. This makes it back-to-back titles for the Beacons.
 
NCU led wire-to-wire, shooting 48% as they went 12-for-26 from three-point range. NCU held a 42-37 lead at the intermission, but the Knights kept things close, bringing it within two points early in the second half.
 
The Beacons didn't put the game away until the final ten minutes. Warner Pacific had it within seven points, 65-58 after a three-pointer from the Knights' Collin Malcolm, but senior Jay Mayernik scored NCU's next 12 points and the Beacons held any WPC advance at bay before pulling away late on free throws.
 
Mayernik finished with a stellar 27-point, 13-rebound performance that included eight offensive boards. He was 10-for-11 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free-throw line. Four other Beacons were also in double-figures including sophomore Kenny Blackwell with 19 points as he hit 5-for-7 from three-point range.
 
Brendyn Taylor finished with 13 points including a monster dunk over Keaton Bankofier in the fourth minute of the game. Jack Hackman added 11 points and led all players with five assists and two steals and Spencer Mattox came off the bench to score ten, hitting 8-for-10 at the charity stripe in the final two minutes.
 
Head Coach Luke Jackson said, "I am just really proud of where the program is. From the beginning, everyone has put in so much work and wants to do the University proud. Winning a league title is tough. You have to work hard, give your best and you have to get a little lucky, but I don't know if there is a tougher working group in the league."
 
Warner Pacific (10-16, 6-12) was led by Josh Thomas who came off the bench to score 22 points. De'Corrius Sampson-Young added 18 points and Collin Malcolm contributed 16. Charles Honest scored ten and led the Knights with seven rebounds. WPC shot 42% for the game but was just 7-for-29 from long range.
 
NCU (23-3, 16-2) made the most of their senior night, closing out the home schedule with a 15th-straight win that put them two games ahead of No. 16 Eastern Oregon (21-6, 14-4) with two games remaining in the regular season. EOU could still catch the Beacons and share the conference crown but NCU would end that threat with a win in either of their final two road games or a loss by Eastern Oregon in theirs.
 
The Beacons head to face No. 15 Oregon Tech on Thursday night and will be in Ashland on Saturday night to face Southern Oregon. The Knights will be able to lock up eighth place and a spot in the post-season with a win at home over Evergreen next Friday night.