EUGENE, Ore. – In a meeting between two of the top-four scoring teams in the NAIA, Northwest Christian University came out on top Friday night, defeating Multnomah University, 89-83.
 
The Beacons improve to 13-3 on the season including a 5-1 mark in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, matching the conference records of both No. 1 College of Idaho and No. 24 Oregon Tech.
 
NCU held the normally scorching distance shooters for the Lions in check as MU shot just 24% from three-point range. The Beacons, however, didn't have their strongest night on offense either, going just 9-for-31 from beyond the arch.
 
Twice the Beacons built up leads in the game but no advantage was safe as they took on the NAIA's best scoring team, averaging over 103 points per game. NCU jumped out to a 19-point lead, 35-16 with under eight minutes to play in the first half, but the Lions began to capitalize on Beacon miscues and cut the deficit to three points, 43-40 on a triple from two-time reigning NAIA Player of the Week Justin Martin. Austin Tyner quickly answered with a three of his own and Davonte Cleveland dropped a half-court buzzer-beater to give NCU a 49-40 advantage at the break.
 
The Beacons started to pour it on to open the second half and quickly built up a 24-point advantage, leading 72-48 with just over 13 minutes remaining. The home team started to tighten up, however, and the Lions took full advantage, roaring back on a 24-6 run to climb within six, 78-72 on another Martin three. That was as close as Multnomah would reach as NCU connected on enough free-throws over the final few possessions to secure the win.
 
NCU was led to victory by the usual suspects as Tyner finished with 24 points and Reece Robinson scored 22 to go with a game-high 14 rebounds. Tyrus Hosley dropped 17 along with nine rebounds and four assists and Ernest Ugoagu scored 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, adding a pair of steals. Fifth-starter Shawn Carson chipped in an additional eight points on 4-for-5 shooting as the Beacon top-five accounted for all but five points in the game.
 
Multnomah (10-6, 3-3 CCC) was led by Martin who shot 12-for-32 from the field and hit five treys to end with a game-high 33 points. Brett Blackstock contributed 16 points and three steals while Ben Grandle finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Beacons will have another tough task on their hands on Saturday night when No. 20 Warner Pacific pays a visit. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm. Multnomah, meanwhile, will head up to Salem on Saturday to face Corban University. Corban knocked off WPU on Friday, 89-80.