ASHLAND, Ore. - The Northwest University Eagles men's basketball team kicked off their CCC schedule on the road Friday night, falling to the Southern Oregon Raiders, 79-66, after a huge second half effort by the Eagles. 

The Eagles faced an uphill battle from the start, as the Southern Oregon offense built a commanding 41-17 lead heading into halftime. Northwest struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the opening period, shooting just 19.4% from the field.

However, the team showed resilience in the second half, flipping the script to outscore the Raiders 49-38 in the final 20 minutes. This resurgence was fueled by improved shooting, as the team hit 41.7% of its shots and drained 50.0% (10-20) of its three-point attempts after the break. Despite the late push, the Eagles could not overcome the 24-point halftime deficit.

Christian Watkins led the way for Northwest, posting a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including two three-pointers. Logan Stempniak dominated the glass, recording a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Stempniak was lights-out from distance in the second half, knocking down four three-pointers on the night. Trent Williams also cracked double-digits with 10 points, converting two three-pointers and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the second half.

"Definitely a tale of two halves," said NU Head Coach Rick Skeen. "Credit to our guys for a much better second half but you can't beat good teams in our conference when you only play 20 minutes. We need to give a more consistent effort and execution to take the next step."

Northwest will look to carry the momentum from their strong second-half performance into their next matchup as they face the Oregon Tech Owls tomorrow afternoon.