NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene University sophomore forward Kendall Gielow scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Crusaders to a 74-57 win over Saint Martin's University on Thursday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game in Nampa.

Gielow finished 10 for 13 from the floor, one of two from the three-point line and grabbed seven rebounds as the Crusaders improved to 12-3 overall and 4-2 in GNAC play.

“Kendall was absolutely on fire,” commented NNU head coach Tim Hills.  “When he gets it rolling like that…not many players can stop him.  Between the offense that Kendall provided and the defense that (Justin) Parnell gave us…that helped us beat a really good basketball team tonight.”  Hills referencing the defensive assignment that Parnell drew in the contest, guarding Saint Martin's leading scorer Jake Linton and holding the all-conference guard to just three points on one-of-six shooting.

While Linton may not have reached his average, SMU forwards Brendan Campbell and Bill Richardson picked up the slack, scoring 22 and 12 points, respectively, with Campbell earning the games only double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds.

“They are a great duo and Campbell is a monster on the boards for them,” Hills added.  The loss drops the Saints to 9-7 overall and 4-3 in league action.

Gielow led a trio of Crusaders into double-figures as Justin Parnell added 13 and Joel Ryman came off the bench to score 12.

NNU shot 51.9-percent (27-52) in the contest and forced 21 Saints turnovers, while SMU finished at 36.7-percent (22-60) from the floor.

The Crusaders will now host Western Oregon University on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in a GNAC counter.