Klamath Falls, Ore. - Battling from start to finish, the Beacons went out on a high note on Wednesday as they fell to No. 8 Oregon Tech in the quarterfinal round of the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament, 87-83. 
 
Fighting their way through a total of eight lead changes and five ties throughout the night, the Beacons found themselves ahead 44-42 at halftime. NCU held CCC Player of the Year candidate Mitchell Fink scoreless in the first 20 minutes, allowing him just two missed shots.  
 
NCU quickly took control again in the second half, using a 9-0 run fueled by three Kaden Sand buckets, took a 60-50 lead with 15 minutes to play. The Beacons couldn't hold down Fink forever and the ten point deficit seemed to wake the beast as he scored seven straight points to ignite the Owl offense.  
 
OIT climbed all the way back to take a 71-70 lead on another Fink layup with seven minutes to play and a see-saw battle ensued with the leads changing hands five times over the next six minutes. Tied at 81-81, Fink hit a three-pointer with 1:17 to play, giving the Owls the lead for good.  
 
Head Coach Eddie Alexander said, "It is never a good feeling when you lose your last game but we could walk out of OIT with our heads held high. We weren't expected to be in that game with the Owls back at full strength but we believed. We executed well for a majority of the night and got the right guys the ball in a position of success for most of the night. " 
 
Fink ended up scoring 22 points in the second half as Oregon Tech won to advance to Saturday's CCC semifinals. He wasn't the teams high scorer, as those honors went to Garret Albrecht and his career-high 24, shooting 9-for-12 from the field. The Owls shot 57% for the game and hit just three triples.  
 
The Beacons (14-17) closed out the season shooting 50%, hitting eight three-pointers. They were out-rebounded by Oregon Tech, 31-30.  
 
Leading the offense were a pair of freshman as Kaden Sand scored 17 and Stevie Schlabach added 16. Playing in their final game, seniors Logan Davis and Shawn Carson gave their all, combining to score 26 points. Davis had 14 with five assists and a game-high four steals while Carson added 12 points and seven rebounds.  
 
"We are going to miss our seniors dearly," said Alexander. "Shawn means the world to me. I am so proud of his work ethic, how he battled all season through injury and pain and was always fighting bigger players. He has the heart of a Lion.  
 
"Logan Davis is my guy. I coached him in third grade and for many years to follow. He was my first recruit as the head coach because I knew the work ethic he would bring. At six-foot-one and guarding all five positions at anytime we asked him to, he proved how valuable he was to our program over these past two years." 
 
The Beacons close out their season with a 14-17 record after finishing tied for sixth-place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.  
 
Coach Alexander said, "This was a season of ups and downs, losing streaks and winning streaks. It was also a season where our freshmen and sophomores played 60 percent of our minutes and had the opportunity to grow and develop. This was a more successful season than our records show. Our core already knows what I expect in them moving forward an I am excited to see them put the plan into action next year."