EUGENE – Northwest Christian burned the Southern Oregon men's basketball team late again Friday night, as Jack Hackman's buzzer-beating putback gave the Beacons a 66-64 win in Cascade Conference play at the Morse Event Center.
The 16th-ranked Raiders (13-3 overall, 3-2 CCC) fell behind 64-62 when Michael Loomis sunk a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left. Following a timeout, Tim Weber (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) maneuvered inside for a game-tying layup, but Travis Pacos' runner on the other end bounced five feet from the hoop into the hands of Hackman, who banked it off the glass as time expired.
NCU, which came through in the clutch three times during the 2013-14 season to defeat SOU, improved to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
The Raiders were led by Weber's 14 points, 11 assists and three blocks, while Jordan West (Gymea Bay, Australia/Port Hacking) scored 16 points and Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) added 13 points with five rebounds.
They maintained a slim lead throughout the second half (which never exceeded six points) until West lost the ball and Javonte Byrd cashed in with a transition layup for a 60-59 NCU edge with 1:32 to play.
Ben DeSaulnier (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) – who scored 10 of his 12 points off the bench in the second half – then traded free throws with NCU's Austin Kuemper, and SOU went up 62-61 when Weber found a cutting West at the basket with 44 seconds left before Loomis hit the trey.
Kuemper carried the Beacons offensively with 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, where he went 6-for-7 from the field. Travis Pacos added 11 points and grabbed four of NCU's 15 second-half offensive rebounds.
SOU shot 53 percent (26-for-49) from the field, tipping over 50 for the fourth straight game, while the Beacons shot 45 percent (24-for-53) but got to the free-throw line 25 times compared to SOU's 10.
The previous three SOU-NCU matchups played in Eugene had gone to overtime.
The Raiders will travel Saturday to Corban (9-4, 2-2), which on Friday lost 77-69 to Oregon Tech.