Beacons need defense to light up.

Byline: Chris Hansen The Register-Guard

The Northwest Christian College men's basketball team stumbled to a 4-9 start last season before finishing 19-12 and in third place at the national tournament.

NCC BASKETBALL

That's the model coach Dave Lipp hopes his team will follow again this season, with the Beacons carrying a 4-8 record into this weekend's Dale J. Bates Tournament at Lane Community College.

"Just like last year, our team unity is very good, our chemistry is really good," Lipp said.

What could use some work, however, is the defense, which is allowing 11 more points (79 to 68) a game than last season.

"We haven't been able to stop anybody," Lipp said. "But we work really hard on defense every day. It's a matter of getting guys to believe in it."

Despite losing four starters from last season, including its top two scorers, NCC is playing well offensively and averaging 74 points.

Senior post Aaron Hegge leads the team in scoring with 14 points per game, while junior wing Jesse Taylor averages 12 and junior wing Josh Harbert adds 11, though he recently suffered a knee injury and is out indefinitely.

"We've played some really good teams, and we have a young team so we've been taking our licking here," Lipp said. "But we've won two in row and last year once we started winning we gained confidence and everybody upped their game."

To make it to their 13th United States Collegiate Athletic Association postseason tournament in 14 years, the Beacons need to win at least 13 of their final 17 games.

"We always try and get our team to play its best in March," Lipp said. "But we have to win 17 games to get to (the playoffs), so we're going to need a run here."

The NCC women's team has won three straight and is off to a 7-4 start in only its second year since being elevated from club status.

"We play with everybody this year, there's no blowouts," assistant coach Liz Turner Bolton said. "We're putting all the different elements together."

The Beacons start a trio of freshmen in center Emily Gray, a Willamette High School graduate, forward McKenzie Gambee from Junction City and guard Jacquie Lipp from Sheldon.

"We've got some really good recruits," Turner Bolton said. "We've definitely added to our talent pool."

The women's team is on a break until Dec. 20, when it plays in Roseburg against Umpqua Community College.