NAMPA, Idaho - Western Washington scored 53 second half points to pull away for an 82-63 victory over Northwest Nazarene University in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night in Nampa.

Western Washington (1-0 GNAC, 8-2) was led by Steve Alford who scored a game-high 25 points and had nine rebounds as the Vikings went 20-for-29 from the floor in the second half to earn the victory.  Alford scored 17 of his points in the second period and also grabbed four steals and had two blocked shots.

The Crusaders, who fell for just the second time this season and are now 8-2 overall and 0-1 in GNAC play, were led by Tyler Roberts 13 points.  Both teams had four players in double-figures with NNU's Justin Parnell and Louie Beech scoring 11, while Kendall Gielow added 10.

WWU's Ira Graham scored 14 points, Calin Schell had 13 and Zack Bruce provided some power off the bench for the Vikings, scoring 10 points, all inside the paint.

The Crusaders committed 23 turnovers and shot just 41-percent (23-55) from the floor, as opposed to the Vikings, who finished at 57-percent (33-57) from the floor overall.

NNU will look to rebound on Saturday night when they host Central Washington in a GNAC counter at 7 p.m. at the Johnson Sports Center.

Newspaper Box Score
Western Washington vs Northwest Nazarene
1/3/08 7pm at Nampa,Idaho
At Nampa,Idaho
WESTERN WASHINGTON 82, NORTHWEST NAZARENE 63
WESTERN WASHINGTON (1-0 GNAC, 8-2)
Alford,Steve 11-17 2-2 25; Graham,Ira 6-13 1-5 14; Schell,Calin 5-6 2-4 13;
Bruce,Zach 5-6 0-0 10; Webb,Derrick 3-7 0-0 7; Pegues,Jason 2-3 0-0 4;
Brittinen,David 1-1 0-0 2; Severin,Steve 0-4 1-5 1. Totals 33-57 12-22 82.
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (0-1 GNAC, 8-2)
Roberts,Tyler 4-6 3-4 13; Parnell,Justin 5-11 0-0 11; Beech,Louie 4-7 2-2
11; Gielow,Kendall 3-8 2-2 10; Helpenstell,Scott 2-6 3-5 7; Ryman,Joel 2-5
0-0 5; Simmons,Jason 2-2 0-0 4; Shildmyer,Adam 1-6 0-0 2; Grewe,Joe 0-2 0-0
0; Burk,Tippy 0-1 0-0 0; Mgebroff,Matt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 10-13 63.
Western Washington............   29   53  -   82
Northwest Nazarene............   31   32  -   63
3-point goals-Western Washington 4-9 (Webb,Derrick 1-1; Graham,Ira 1-2;
Alford,Steve 1-4; Schell,Calin 1-1; Pegues,Jason 0-1), Northwest Nazarene
7-20 (Roberts,Tyler 2-3; Gielow,Kendall 2-5; Parnell,Justin 1-4; Ryman,Joel
1-3; Beech,Louie 1-2; Shildmyer,Adam 0-3). Fouled out--Western
Washington-None, Northwest Nazarene-None. Rebounds-Western Washington 31
(Alford,Steve 9), Northwest Nazarene 32 (Gielow,Kendall 6). Assists-Western
Washington 12 (Webb,Derrick 6), Northwest Nazarene 12 (Roberts,Tyler 4).
Total fouls-Western Washington 14, Northwest Nazarene 21. A-471