NAMPA, Idaho. – Shooting an amazing 70.7 percent from the field, the Northwest Nazarene men’s basketball team upset No. 18 Western Washington 121-105 on Saturday night at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.

The Crusaders (17-10, 11-7 GNAC) cashed in from the three-point line, going 13 for 21 (61.9 percent), including six from junior shooting guard Ryan McCarthy.  The Vikings (21-6, 13-5 GNAC) shot an impressive 53.1 percent (34 of 64) from the floor and were 27 for 30 from the foul line.

With post season ramifications on the line for both squads, the intensity level was high from the tip.  “I thought our players answered the call tonight,” commented NNU head coach Mike Terpstra.  “Daniel’s (Nyom) effort tonight was just great, and Mesut played like a veteran.”  Playing in his final game on Orrin Hills Center Court, Nyom scored a career-high 24 points on perfect 10 of 10 shooting from the floor and a four-for-four effort from the free throw line.

Ademoglu finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.  It was his ninth double-double performance of the season.  Raymond Butler added 21 points off the bench for NNU, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the field, while McCarthy finished with 20 points in his six-for-nine effort from the arc.

The victory gives the Crusaders a glimmer of hope going in to tomorrow’s NCAA Division II national tournament selection show.  The Crusaders are currently the ninth ranked team in the NCAA D.II West Region and need to catch No. 8 BYU-Hawaii to gain a bid to the 64-team tournament.  The loss dealt a serious blow to the Vikings, who were ranked No.1 in the West and No.18 in the latest NABC/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.  With the No.1 seed playing host to the West Regional, the Vikings may fall out of the top spot, depending on results from around the West Region tonight.

WWU’s Ryan Diggs led all scorers with 31 points, going 10 for 17 from the floor and 10 of 13 from the foul line.  The Viking attack was balanced as usual, with six players in double-figures. Preston Vermeulen had 15 points in just 11 minutes, going 4-of-4 from the field, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers, and making all four of his free throws, while Tyler Amaya had 14 points, 12 of them in the second half.  Kyle Jackson added 13, Grant Dykstra had 12, and Tyler MacMullen netted 10.

The Crusaders, who are the leading rebounding team in the conference, out-rebounded the Vikings 35-18, including 12 on the offensive end.  The 121 points was a season high for the Crusaders, and the first time this season NNU has broken the 100-point barrier.

Playing in their final home game, Crusader senior John Davis scored 11 points and handed out four assists, while fellow senior David Lehrschall scored nine, going three for three from the three-point line.  “John really played well tonight and took care of the basketball,” added Terpstra.  “David’s shots were huge in the first half, right when we needed them to stop a Western run.”

With both teams opening the game at a blistering pace, NNU led at the half 52-48.  The Crusaders shot 62.5 percent in the opening period, and WWU shot 51.5 percent.  Both teams were perfect from the foul line in the period, each going eight-for-eight.  Diggs scored 13 of his game-high 31 in the first 20 minutes, while Nyom scored 16 of his 24 in the first stanza.

The game was tied, 54-54, 90 seconds into the second half, but NNU went on a 14-4 run, with Ademoglu scoring nine of the points, to open up a 68-58 lead with 15:40 to play.

Western got no closer than eight points after that, doing so five times, the final one on two free throws by Vermuelen

that made the score 104-96 with 3:30 to play.  But the Crusaders then put the game away, going on an 11-3 run over the

next 2:12 to take a 115-99 advantage with 1:18 left.

The NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament selection show will air at 8:30 p.m. MST at www.ncaasports.com with live audio and video streaming, and will also air live on Altitude Sports and Entertainment (DirecTV channel 644 or Dish Network 410).  The Women’s selection show will air prior to the men’s at 8:00 p.m. MST.

In addition, both 64-team brackets will be posted on www.ncaasports.com immediately after each selection show.