PORTLAND, Ore. – Two nights after knocking off Bethesda University, the Multnomah University men's basketball team couldn't come up with a win against New Hope Christian College, losing 94-92 on Jim Skagen Court on Friday night.
For the Deacons (1-3), this marks the first win over the Lions in three games with their last win coming in the 2014-15 season.
Ben Grandle continued his shooting ways for the Lions, finishing 6-of-9 from behind the arc for a team high 25 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals.
Both teams traded baskets for a majority of the game that featured 11 lead changes throughout the night. New Hopes' largest lead of the night came with 13:54 left in the first half as Isiah Large finished a layup giving his team a 14-6 lead. Both teams continued to exchange points as the Deacons headed to the locker room with a 45-44 advantage.
After finishing with 37 points in his first game for the Lions,
Darius Redrick tallied 17 points and finished with a game high nine assists.
Moe Keita ended with 12 points and eight rebounds and
Jason Wyncoop added 11 points with three 3-pointers.
The Lions came up firing in the second half as Wyncoop hit a three to give MU their largest lead of the game, 63-54, with just under sixteen minutes to play.
New Hope used a nine point run to erase the deficit, led by Phillip Cook who finished with a game high 29 points. Steven Shares added 20 points and Large ended with 13 points and 14 rebounds to complete the double-double.
A game after finishing 24-of-33 from the free throw line, the Lions struggled against New Hope, converting only 15-of-22 while totaling 16 turnovers on the night.
Ezekiel Martin finished one point shy of a double-double for the Lions, tallying nine points along with leading the team in rebounds with 10.
With just three seconds to play, the Lions inbounded the ball to Redrick who launched a last effort three, hitting off the rim and sealing the game for the visitors.
These two teams will battle it out again tomorrow morning as the Lions and Deacons rematch in round two at 12 p.m. The Lions will also play an exhibition against the University of Portland later that night with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
