EUGENE, Ore. – A buzzer-beating attempt fell short and the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team missed an opportunity to take down Northwest University on Saturday night, falling 71-69. The Beacons had rallied from a 13-point deficit.
 
It was a rough first-half that doomed the home team as NCU had a difficult time finding the bottom of the net, shooting 26% including a 2-for-15 stretch from three-point range. The Eagles took advantage of every opportunity they had to drive or back-cut to the hoop, taking a 37-27 lead into halftime.
 
The Beacons bounced back to shoot 6-for-12 from outside over the final 20 minutes but it proved to be too little, too late when Ernest Ugoagu fell short on his last-second attempt that would have given the win to NCU.
 
Northwest (8-4, 4-0) was just 1-for-10 from three-point range themselves, the only make coming from 6'6" Post Husssayn Ford on his first triple attempt of the season. Ford ended the night with his standard double-double, scoring 20 points to go along with ten rebounds, all on the defensive end. All five starters were in double-digits for the Eagles as Ryan Ricks followed with 13 and Tanner Davis added 12. Christian Hakilimali and Cesar Sandoval added ten points apiece while Dejwan Walker came off the bench to score six points with a game-high seven assists.
 
The Beacons (7-6, 2-1) suffer their first conference defeat of the season and end a six-game winning streak. Logan Davis and Stevie Schlabach led the way in the loss with each scoring 16 points as the only two in double-figures. Kaden Sand added nine points while Shawn Carson and Logan Sand scored eight each.
 
Northwest Christian is off for the remainder of the calendar year, returning to action on January 3 in La Grande against Eastern Oregon University. The Eagles likewise will return to action on the third, on the road against Portland Bible College.