EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men's basketball team came up short on Saturday night, falling by a final of 92-83 to the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (RV) in Cascade Collegiate Conference action.
 
NCU (8-10, 4-7) finished with a +4 turnover margin, but were unable to overcome the .542 shooting effort from Mountaineers. Eastern (18-3, 10-3) held a 39-28 rebound advantage including a 27-19 edge on the defensive glass, holding the Beacons to just five second chance points.
 
The Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead over the Beacons, holding the home side scoreless for the first three minutes of action. Eastern held a ten-point advantage for much of the first half, staying out-front of the Beacons thanks to hot-shooting and extended possessions from their work on the boards. The visitors built their lead up to 18 at 45-27 with just under minute in the first period, and went into the intermission with a 13-point advantage.
 
Brock Rice got the Beacons back within ten, 50-49, on a long-range bucket four minutes into the second period. Eastern quickly built their lead back to double-digits, carrying the lead for the next six minutes of action. Michael Loomis cut the deficit to six points at the 11-minute mark, but it was the closest Northwest Christian would get to their CCC foes. Eastern finished the period shooting .556 from the field and sealed their tenth conference victory of the season.
 
Loomis led the Beacons in scoring on the night, finishing with 22 points and six boards. Tyrus Hosley and Davonte Cleveland provided some spark of the bench, each scoring 19 points while combining for seven rebounds and five steals. Spencer Mattox was the fourth Beacon in double-figures, going six-for-eight from the field en-route to 12 points.
 
Max McCollough led all players with 36 points, hitting five from down-town and 11-12 from the charity stripe. Jordan May finished with 25, also hitting five long-range shots. Brennan Pope finished with 12 points, hitting six of his seven field-goal attempts. Peter Eke grabbed a team-high ten rebounds for the Mounties.
 
NCU looks to bounce back next weekend, traveling to Washington to take on the Northwest Eagles on Friday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern is back in action on Wednesday, January 24, when they head Caldwell, Idaho for a game with the No. 8-ranked College of Idaho Coyotes.