PORTLAND, Ore.| The Knights beat Eastern Oregon in an overtime thriller on Saturday by a score of 81-78.

Warner Pacific (15-8, 12-6) hosted Eastern Oregon University (15-8, 12-5) in what would end up being one of the most dramatic games of the season.

Right out of the gate the two teams traded buckets, tying up the game and taking the lead from each other. Freshman F Maxwell Moses was a consistent offensive presence for the Knights the whole half and scored 14 points in just the first period.

Before the first half ended, Eastern was able to establish a steady lead. Going into the break the Knights found themselves down 37-29.

The second half felt like a playoff game as both teams battled for playoff seeding, and the Knights looked to break a three-game losing skid against EOU.

After clawing their way back to within striking distance, Warner unleashed a flurry of offense headlined by Junior F Caleb Tyree-Morgan. The Knights went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Tyree-Morgan three-pointer that gave them a 55-51 lead and forced an Eastern timeout.

The Knights rode their momentum to a seven-point lead in the second half, their biggest of the game. The lead wouldn't last long, however, as the Mounties were able to close the gap with just under five minutes left in the second half.

With time winding down in regulation, Sophomore G Dakota Reber raced out for two fast break finishes for the Knights, the second of which being a dunk to put Warner up 69-63 with only 44 seconds remaining.

The Mounties were able to respond by pulling off the improbable and tying up the game. Adam Orr drained a three-pointer for Eastern to reduce Warner's to three. The Mounties then were able to get a rebound and call timeout with under 10 seconds left in the game to draw up one final play.

With 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Eastern's Emmit Taylor got fouled while attempting a three-pointer. With the game on the line, Taylor hit all three of his free throws to tie up the game.

Disaster nearly struck for the Knights before overtime. With under a half second left to play, the Knights attempted a game-winning quick shot play off of a full court inbound pass. Unfortunately for the Knights, the pass attempt hit the rafters hanging from the ceiling in Bart Valentine Court. This resulted in a turnover and gave Eastern Oregon the opportunity to go for an inbound tip-in play with 0.4 seconds left on the clock from the baseline near Warner's basket.

The Mounties got an accurate pass off on the play, but the tip-in attempt wasn't successful and the game went into overtime.    

Warner applied the pressure in overtime as three-pointers from Thomas Miles and Caleb Tyree-Morgan gave the Knights an early lead in the five minute period. After an exhilarating back and forth, Junior G Thomas Miles nailed two clutch free throws to give Warner a 79-78 lead.

The Mounties attempted to regain the lead on one last shot in the final seconds, but Dakota Reber rose above everyone and secured the final rebound. The Knights went on to get the win by a score of 81-78.

The win was a team effort, as multiple Knights had big days in the box score. Warner was led offensively by Caleb Tyree-Morgan who recorded a personal season high of 25 points. Tyree-Morgan was extremely efficient, shooting 9-11 from the field overall including 7-9 from deep. In addition to the scoring, Caleb also brought in seven rebounds and recorded three blocks.

Maxwell Moses continued to provide a huge boost for the Knights off the bench by scoring 20 points. Moses was a key contributor in the first half, as he scored 14 of his 20 points in the first frame.

Thomas Miles also had some big contributions in the game. Miles scored 11 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Miles, who leads the conference in steals, also made his presence felt on defense as he came away with five steals, including two in the final minute of regulation.

The win puts the Knights at 15-8 on the season. The Knights are back in action on Feb. 10 when they host Evergreen.