Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – A balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures and 52.6 percent accuracy from the field carried the host Warner Pacific College Knights to a 105-81 victory over the Multnomah University Lions in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball game Tuesday night here at Bart Valentine Court.
Warner Pacific jumped out to a 9-0 lead on a three-pointer by Xavier Cannefax and three straight layups, one by Cannefax and two by Collin Malcolm. Multnomah finally got on the board with a three by
Trey Fountain at the 16:44 mark, but the Lions were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. A conventional three-point play by Fountain brought the Lions within nine at 43-34 with 2:26 left in the half, but the Knights closed the period with an 11-2 run to take an 18-point advantage of 54-36 into the intermission.
After shooting .525 (21-40) in the first half, the Knights were equally accurate in the second half at .526 (20-38). Their lead hit 30 at 77-47 with 12:27 to go on two free throws by Montel Shirley. The Lions mounted a comeback to close within 18 at 89-71 on a pair of
Max Upchurch free tosses with 5:45 remaining, but it was a classic case of too-little, too-late.
--- By the Numbers: Upchurch off the bench and
Darius Redrick had 16 points each for the Lions, while Fountain and
Ben Grandle tossed in 14 apiece.
DJ Ahana had eight rebounds, while
Brett Blackstock and
Tyler Walker had two assists each. The Lions shot .377 (26-69) from the field, but only .194 (6-41) from long distance.
The Knights were led by Malcolm with 23 points and Cannefax with 19, followed by Morris Bethea with 12, Brandon Bell with 11, and De'Jon Bowman with 10. Bowman and Bell had eight rebounds each, and Shirley handed out three assists. The Knights made 41-of-78 from the floor and 16-of-17 from the line (.941).
Multnomah is now 3-7 overall and 1-2 in the conference, while Warner Pacific improves to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in the CCC.
--- Next: Multnomah will participate in the West Coast Baptist College Classic in Lancaster, Calif., this weekend, starting with a Friday game against Bethesda University of Anaheim, Calif., at 5:00 p.m. … Warner Pacific goes to Concordia University-Portland next Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. exhibition game.
