Skip To Main Content

Northwest University Athletics

Scoreboard desktop

Official Site of Northwest University Eagles

Scoreboard tablet

Ben T C of I
Al Kawashima

Men's Basketball

Eagles Second Half Comeback Downs Yotes

Ben Tucakovic Led NU with 25 points and 8 rebounds
Box Score KIRKLAND, Wash. – Northwest University's Ben Tucakovic returned to the line-up tonight scoring 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds as the Eagles upset the College of Idaho, 91-81, in conference play tonight. The Eagles erased a nine point C of I hafltime lead late in the second half for the com-from-behind victory.

Tucakovic, a junior from Boise, Idaho, sat out last weekend's games with a broken cheekbone suffered in the Walla Walla game on January 16 in Kirkland. He returned with a strong effort hitting 9 of 17 shots for 53 percent shooting for the night. C of I's Joey Nebeker led the Yotes with a game high 28 points and 10 rebounds.

The Yotes came out strong in the first half taking a 9 point lead thirteen minutes into the game as Curtis Brever would hit a 3-pointer. But Northwest U would slowly get back into the game and Paul Loranger's lay-in in the paint would cut the Yote lead to three, 27-24, with 4:27 left in the half. The Yotes would answer back and get their lead back to nine after Dominique Jordan's trey at 2:48. Jordan would hit another 3-point shot with 43 seconds to go to give the C of I a 38-29 halftime lead.

Four minutes and ten seconds into the second half, the Yotes' lead would grow to 11, 51-40, with Marck Coffin's 3-pointer. With the C of I still up 11 points at the 13:35 mark, NU would begin to come back with a 14-4 run capped off by Dak Shagren's 15 foot jumper. The teams would the trade baskets as the game would see 8 ties over nine minutes of play. With the score knotted at 76-all, NU would score 7 straight points to lead 83-76 with 1:13 to go in the game. The Eagles would then hit eight straight free throws in the final 42 seconds to clinch the victory.

Dak Shagren and Tomas Ogbaslassie would each add 17 points for Northwest U (9-15, 5-9 CCC) with Michael Dupree adding 16 points and 6 assists. NU would shoot 58 percent in the second half to aid in the comeback and out rebound the Yotes 38-28 including 16 offensive rebounds.

In addition to Nebeker's 28 points, The College of Idaho (13-10, 8-6 CCC) got 23 points and 5 assists from Aitor Zubizarreta and 12 from Dominique Jordan. The Yotes also shot well converting 30 of 59 shots for 51 percent shooting. C of I was plagued by 20 turnovers for the game

"We needed a good win to help our confidence," commented John Van Dyke, NU head coach. "We've lost some close games this season, so it was satisfying to get a gritty win over a good team like The College of Idaho. I'm proud of the effort our team gave tonight, especially Ben (Tucakovic) playing with a broken cheekbone. It showed a lot of courage." .

Northwest U will host Eastern Oregon tomorrow night at home while the Yotes will take on Evergreen in Olympia, Wash., tomorrow evening.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Paul Loranger

#33 Paul Loranger

P
6' 10"
Junior
Tomas Ogbaslassie

#15 Tomas Ogbaslassie

W
6' 5"
Senior
Dak Shagren

#21 Dak Shagren

G
6' 3"
Junior
Michael Dupree

#11 Michael Dupree

G
6' 1"
Junior
Ben Tucakovic

#20 Ben Tucakovic

P
6' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Paul Loranger

#33 Paul Loranger

6' 10"
Junior
P
Tomas Ogbaslassie

#15 Tomas Ogbaslassie

6' 5"
Senior
W
Dak Shagren

#21 Dak Shagren

6' 3"
Junior
G
Michael Dupree

#11 Michael Dupree

6' 1"
Junior
G
Ben Tucakovic

#20 Ben Tucakovic

6' 7"
Junior
P