KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Multnomah University men's basketball team fell just short of a comeback on the road at Northwest University, losing 102-94 on Friday night.
 
With the win, Northwest clinched the final spot in the Cascade Collegiate Conference postseason tournament, improving to 12-17 overall, 8-11 CCC while the loss drops the Lions to 5-23, 1-18 in conference.
 
How it Happened: Both teams started the night off hitting a three-pointer which set the tone for the rest of the game. Multnomah totaled 17 made threes on the night while the Eagles hit 18 shots on seven less attempts (35 compared to 42).
 
Northwest used a 17-4 run in the middle of the first half to break away from the Lions before heading into the break with a 20 point advantage, 58-38.
 
The Eagles edged out Multnomah 39-32 in the rebounding margin and finished shooting 56 percent from the field compared to 47 percent for the Lions.
 
By the Numbers: Senior Guard Blake Updike finished with a game high 27 points to the lead the Lions while freshman Jason Wyncoop totaled 18 points with six three-pointers. Freshman Ben Grandle and Junior Thomas Simien had 15 and 12 points respectively while Jordan Paris tallied nine rebounds and seven points.
 
For the Eagles, Dak Shagren led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds followed by Zach Smith with 20 points, Ben Tucakovic with 17 points and Thomas Ogbaslassie with 16 points. Michael Dupree finished with night with 14 points along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
 
Down 80-59 with 13:08 to play, the Lions used a 14-2 run consisting of four made threes to bring the deficit to single digits. The Lions came within five points of tying the game after a three by Mikey Chown made it 86-81, but Northwest continued to have an answer as they foiled MU's comeback, winning 102-94.
 
Coming Up Next: The Lions will finish their final CCC game of the season against Evergreen State while Northwest welcomes in Warner Pacific for senior night.