EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell men's basketball team fought off a spirited second-half charge from Warner Pacific on Saturday evening, and got 34 points off the bench, pulling out an 85-77 victory for their first conference win of the season.
 
The Beacons (5-3, 1-1 CCC) led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but saw a 14-0 WPU run bring the visitors within two, where they camped out for a majority of the final frame.
 
Bushnell never surrendered the lead, however, and were able to pull away late. Holding a 65-63 lead with six minutes to play, Squeeky Johnson and Isaiah Wallace hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the game out of reach.
 
"This was a great bounce back game for us," said Head Coach Eddie Alexander. "We made some lineup changes to bring some different energy, and although we are still struggling with our starts to the second half I am excited with how the guys responded today after a tough second-half game yesterday."
 
The Knights played a strong game, holding a 50-34 advantage in the paint, a 20-7 margin in points off turnovers and an 18-5 edge in second-change scoring as their 39-35 rebounding advantage included 13 offensive boards. Bushnell, however, was able to win the game behind the strength of their 11-player rotation, gaining a 34-7 advantage in points off the bench that included 16 from Luke Smith and nine for Roy Bunn. Bushnell also got the job done at the free-throw line as they went 18-for-22.  
 
Once again Cory Johnson led the team in scoring, posting 19 points and adding seven rebounds. Kaleb Burnett scored 12 points and Johnson posted ten. Cole Beardsley (pictured) got his first career start and made the most of it with a game-high seven rebounds and seven assists.
 
Warner Pacific (4-3, 0-3) was led by Tre'Von Cason, scoring 20 points along with seven rebounds, six steals and three assists. Matt Solomon and Terrin Dickey added 17 points apiece in the loss.
 
The Beacons are set to hit the road next weekend, taking on Willamette Valley rival Corban University (4-4, 2-0) in Salem on Friday at 7:30 pm.