PORTLAND, Ore.  – A second-half comeback was all for naught on Saturday night, as Bushnell fell to Warner Pacific University in a Cascade Collegiate Conference meeting, 78-76.
 
Trailing by double-digits early in the second half, the Beacons rallied to within five points on multiple occasions, but still found themselves down 66-58 with 10:41 remaining. Turner Livingston kicked off a furious 11-3 run over a four-minute stretch with a three-pointer and the Beacons rallied to tie the game.
 
Bushnell eventually grabbed a 74-73 lead with just over three minutes to play, benefitting from a technical foul after a personal foul as they hit four straight free-throws. After trading leads on consecutive possessions, a Collin Oesteriech layup gave the lead back to the Knights with 37 seconds remaining, setting up the Beacons for a final opportunity.
 
The Beacons' three-point attempt went off the iron, but an apparent offensive board underneath by Ashton Harvey gave the big man a chance at a put-back as the seconds ticked away. The junior went up for the attempt, but the officials called a jump ball tie-up before the foul that would have put Harvey on the free-throw line and gave the ball back to the home team due to the possession arrow.
 
A quick foul put WPU at the line with three seconds remaining. The Knights hit the first of two free-throws and intentionally missed the second to set the clock in motion. Bushnell was able to get off a buzzer-beating attempt, but the shot went wide to end the game.
 
With the top scorer from both teams (Bushnell's Cory Johnson and Warner Pacific's Matt Solomon) absent from action on Friday night, a number of other players stepped up to the plate.
 
For the Beacons (9-10, 5-8 CCC), it was redshirt Freshman Kaleb Burnett (pictured) leading the way, shooting 11-for-18 as he scored a game-high 26 points. Harvey had a forceful game in the paint for Bushnell, securing a double-double with 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
 
"This was a tough night for sure," said Head Coach Eddie Alexander. "We missed free throws, and we didn't play defense in the first 15 minutes and that ended up costing us in the end. We also missed out on multiple transition opportunities which was tough, but with all the bad we still had a chance."
 
The Knights (9-9, 4-9) were led off the bench by Tre'Von Cason, scoring 19 points along with a team-high four assists.
 
The Beacons will look to recover quickly from the loss, traveling across town to take on the Multnomah Campus of Jessup University on Saturday evening. Tip-off against the Lions (11-7, 7-6) is scheduled for 5:00 pm.