EUGENE, Ore. – Once again the NCU men's basketball season comes to a close in the second round of the NAIA Division II national tournament as the No. 3 seed Beacons were upended by the No. 2 seed Indiana University East, 73-68.
 
After falling behind by 17 points, 22-5 in the first ten minutes, NCU put together an incredible comeback, eventually taking a brief lead in the second half. When all was said and done, however, the Red Wolves emerged victorious thanks in large part to a glaring discrepancy in free throw shooting. IU East went 18-for-20 (90%) while the Beacons were plagued with 57% shooting (16-for-28).
 
Head Coach Luke Jackson said, It was a tough game and I think our guys were almost too wound up. I have never questioned their heart all year long and today it was just too many missed free-throws and too many turnovers and not making simple plays. We gave them too much credit and let them off the hook by not executing. Sometimes the magnitude of a game like this can be overwhelming and we never really settled down."
 
In what became their last collegiate games, seniors Brendyn Taylor and Jay Mayernik led the way for the Beacons. Taylor scored a game-high 19 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field while Mayernik posted one final double-double as he scored 17 points and 11 boards. After going 2-for-8 on early free-throws, and playing nearly every minute in the second half, Mayernik hit his final five free-throws as the Beacons did everything in their power to climb back into the game.
 
Unfortunately for the Beacons, Indiana East was just a little better, and survived a game in which three starters were mired with foul trouble and top inside threat Nate Niehoff fouled out in the final minutes. The top three-point shooting team in the NAIA also advanced despite hitting just 21% from distance (3-for-14). IU East was led by Jacoby Claypool, scoring 14 points. Niehoff finished with 13 and Jaylen McKay contributed 11.
 
The Beacons also had a strong effort from Kenny Blackwell, closing out his sophomore campaign with 11 points and four assists, breaking NCU's career assists record. He needed two heading into the contest and pushed his career total to 303.
 
Mayernik was also a record-setter on Friday, claiming a new single-season free-throw record at 156. He cleared the previous mark of 150 held by Austin Kuemper for the past two seasons. Mayernik ends his career with 250 offensive rebounds, 494 defensive rebounds and 764 total rebounds, all of which rank second in NCU history. His 954 career points are 12th on NCU's all-time list.
 
Friday's loss also marked the end of the careers of Bradley Laubacher and Jack Hackman along with Taylor and Mayernik. For Hackman, it ends a three-year stint in which he hit a school-record 207 three-pointers, 68 more than the previous record-holder, Javonte Byrd. He scored 939 career points which ranks 13th on the all-time list.
 
 "I am so proud of these guys," said Jackson. "I really love our team this year. It's a hard working great group of kids. There wasn't a dry eye in the locker room after the game. I spent about 15 minutes just thanking our seniors. Brendyn, coming from a big time program like USC, being a top-100 recruit out of high school, had an incredible attitude and said this was the best experience of his life. Brad, who was in a top-ranked track program for four years at Oregon said that this was the best experience he had ever had in sports.
 
"I can't say enough great things about Jack Hackman. On and off the court he is just such a stud. He's the best three-point shooter to ever come to NCU, he is a 4.0 student, well spoken, accountable in every way and he has a very bright future ahead of him.
 
"I can hardly even talk about Jay Mayernik. His heart and soul and appreciation for everything that he has done being a little older and playing at such a high level for three years. For him to be the most valuable player in our league is such a hard thing to do and I have so much respect for him.
 
IU East (28-7) advances to Saturday's quarterfinal round where they will take on Liston Bracket top seed Cornerstone.
 
The Beacons finish out the season with a record of 25-6, the third highest win total in school history. NCU also crossed the 20-win mark for the second year in a row, the first time it had happened in consecutive seasons since a four-year stretch in the late 90's.
 
Coach Jackson said, "This was a special season. It is unfortunate it had to come to an end but we left everything we had out on the court. We gave it our best and at the end of the day you can live with that. 20 years from now, these guys are not going to remember the wins and losses, but they will remember the relationships they made with this family along the way."