A thrilling evening of basketball came to a close at the Morse Event Center, as the 10th ranked Oregon Tech Owls (23-5) took down 25th ranked Northwest Christian Beacons (18-8) by a score of 94-93.

The Cascade Conference foes were both firing right out of the gate with impressive offensive performances. For NCU, the first half was headlined by Ernest Ugoagu who had 17 points and a pair of threes. While for the Owls, the 6’7 Freshman Matt Van Tassell lead the way with 17 points. The Beacons closed the first half with a barrage of three-pointers, hitting 8 total in the period. A mix of efficient shooting and only two turnovers culminated in a 56-44 Beacon lead.

After being down by 12, the second half was taken over by the Owls. Oregon Tech dominated on the offensive glass grabbing 17 rebounds and converting that into 18 second-chance points compared to the Beacons measly 5 second-chance points. Oregon Tech took away the Beacons main strengths from the first half, forcing 7 turnovers and only allowing 2 threes in the second period. The Owls Guard Mitchell Fink had a second-half scoring explosion, putting home 17 points in the second half and his bucket gave the Owls a 91-90 lead with 1:31 left in the game. The two sides would trade buckets in the closing minute but with the score tied at 93 Owls Guard Tyler Hieb drew a shooting foul, sending the packed Morse Event Center into a frenzy. Hieb would go 1-2 from the charity stripe giving the Owls a 94-93 lead with .9 seconds. A full-court in-bound pass from NCU’s Logan Davis made no connecting, giving Coach Justin Parnell’s Owl’s a one-point win.

Game Story by Adam Susman

Audio: Head Coach Eddie Alexander