Box Score EUGENE, Ore. - Pat Ling drilled a 16-foot jump shot with 8.3 seconds left and Northwest Christian's potential game-winning shot was ruled to have come after the final buzzer as The Evergreen State College stunned the two-time defending Cascade Collegiate Conference champion Beacons, 81-80, Friday night inside Morse Center.

The win was the first of the conference campaign for the Geoducks (2-12 overall, 1-4 CCC), while Northwest Christian (4-7, 0-4) remained winless in league contests.

The hard-fought contest that saw 10 lead changes and six tie scores and played out to the final seconds. The first half was streaky with huge point swings. With the score tied at 13:22, Evergreen would dominate for the next 10 minutes, slowly building its lead up to 15. Northwest Christian battled-back during the final four minutes of the half and went into the intermission trailing the Geoducks by five points.

The Beacons took the lead in the opening minutes of the second period, but after trailing - though narrowly - for most of the second half, Evergreen ran off eight unanswered points to turn a 72-67 deficit with 5:46 to play into a 75-72 lead with 3:56 on the clock. Ling started the run with a layin and free throw and Kevin Clayton Jr. added a finish at the rim before Dustin Meade drained a three-pointer.

The Geoducks were unable to ice the game at the foul line, hitting just two of their six attempts over the next several minutes, and that opened the door for the Beacons to go back in front. Michael Loomis notched a three-point play to tie the score at 79-79 with 40 seconds to play, and Canyon Dwyre put the home team on top, 80-79, by hitting a free throw with 19 seconds remaining.

Ling came up clutch on the other end of the floor, pulling up and knocking down a jumper from just outside the key on the left side. Northwest Christian's Brock Rice hit an 18-footer at the other end of the floor, but the referees immediately ruled that the buzzer had already sounded, handing Evergreen the victory.

"This was great team effort and focus for 40 minutes," Evergreen head coach Tim Malroy said. "This win is a culmination of a lot of hard work and positivity from day one with this group."

Meade was on fire in this game, shooting 8-for-12 overall, including an impressive 6-for-7 from three-point range, in leading the Geoducks with 22 points. Ling added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists, Ryan Quigley scored 13 points and Jaurence Chisholm finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. The Geoducks shot 47 percent overall (30-for-64), including 53 percent (8-for-15) from distance.

Loomis scored 20 points for the Beacons, who shot 45 percent (30-for-66) from the field but just 45 percent (9-for-19) from the foul line.

Evergreen is back in action tomorrow when it faces the Corban Warriors at 7:30 p.m. in Salem, Ore.

- NCU's Travis Lance contributed to this story.