EUGENE, Ore. – Forward Michael Loomis scored a game-high 34 points with Kenny Blackwell pouring-in 28 as the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team closed the regular season with a 98-94 Cascade Collegiate Conference victory over the Walla Walla Wolves on Saturday night.
 
NCU (13-14, 9-11 CCC) relied on their long-range prowess as they went 21-42 from beyond-the-arc, with Loomis and Blackwell hitting eight apiece. The Beacons turned the ball over just six times on the night – a season best – while also hitting 21 of their 22 free-throw attempts.
 
The Beacons used their sharp-shooting to build an early advantage, with the first 27 points they scored coming by way of the three-ball. With NCU up 31-23 in the eight minute, Walla Walla cut the lead to three with a streak of five unanswered. Northwest Christian built their lead up to double-digits on a Loomis three at the 4:30 mark and took a 50-43 lead into the intermission.
 
Northwest Christian built their advantage to as high as 12 points early in the second half, leading 68-56 with just under 14 minutes remaining.  Walla Walla slowly began chipping-away at their deficit, making the Beacons settle for inside shots as their worked their way back into the game. The Wolves tied the game at 83-83 with 4:13 left on the clock before taking their first lead of the game, 86-85, with just under four minutes to go. The lead changed hands twice more before Reece Robinson put the Beacons ahead for good with a free-throw at 2:34. NCU hit all eight of their attempts from the line down the stretch to ice the game and earn their ninth conference victory of the year.
 
Loomis complimented his shooting efforts with a game-high 13 boards, notching the games sole double-double. Robinson scored 17 off the bench, while Davonte Cleveland dished-out a team-high eight assists to go along with four points.
 
Jacob Vargas and Wesley Burke each scored 26 for Walla Walla (6-24, 2-18), with Vargas going 8-10 from the field and pulling down eight boards. Michael Isotalo finished with 13, while Diensh Brown came up just shy of a double-double with nine points and ten rebounds.
 
The Beacons enter the post season as the seventh-seeded team in the conference, earning them a trip to take on the second seed Knights of Warner Pacific University on Wednesday, February 21. The game tips-off at 7:00 p.m.