EUGENE, OR - Despite a season-high 27 points by junior Luke Howard, the Eagles were knocked off by a strong Bushnell Beacons team, 96-82. 

The Eagles found themselves in a hole when Bushnell claimed the first eight points of the game. From there, Northwest continued to struggle in the first half, shooting 12-34, while Bushnell kept finding the bucket. 

Northwest found some shooting momentum in the second half and cut the lead down to eight with 7:53 left to go in the game. Unfortunately, the Beacons responded by closing the door and not letting the Eagles get much closer to their lead. 

Luke Howard helped NU fight to stay in the game with a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds. Lewis Pope followed with 17 points. 

"Our guys continue to fight some of the top teams in our league," said NU Head Coach Rick Skeen. "We got off to a poor start defensively again, but we continued to fight and had it in single digits multiple times in the second half. Lewis and Luke had big games for us again, and our team is really gelling together. We will find a way to get over the hump."

Northwest heads home and will host Warner Pacific University at 7:30 p.m. on January 12.