PORTLAND, Ore. – Taylor Young scored 26 points to lead Warner Pacific past Eastern Oregon in a CCC Tournament Quarterfinal game tonight at Bart Valentine Court.
 
Leading by 20 points in the second half, the 3rd seeded Knights withstood a late charge from EOU sparked by the Mountaineers' work on the glass. The 6th seeded visitors grabbed 24 offensive rebounds during the contest.

After the teams traded the lead eight times in the early action, Warner Pacific used a 7-0 run to take a 27-18 lead with 4:48 left in the first half. The gap reached 14 points by halftime (38-24), as Earl Jones scored six points in five minutes to help the Knights take control. EOU went 0 of 7 from three point range in the period, but kept within shouting distance thanks to nine points from Trell Washington.

Young set the tone for the second half, scoring eight straight points for WPC and after De'Jon Bowman contributed a tip-in, the Knights had built their largest lead (48-28) with 16:56 to play. 

Eastern Oregon battled on and began to chip away at the deficit by crashing the boards. Their effort on the glass led to 16 offensive rebounds in the second half alone and ultimately 27 second chance points. Caulin Bakalarski led the comeback attempt with 15 points in the period, and his three pointer cut the WP lead down to five points (68-63) with 3:09 to play.

Warner Pacific countered the surge with baskets from Young and Collin Malcolm, and proceeded to make six straight free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

The result sends the Knights on to the semifinals and a trip to Ashland to face Southern Oregon. The game will be Saturday, February 27th at 7pm.