LACEY, Wash. - Joel Ryman scored eight points in the final 80 seconds of the first half and that turned out to be the difference as the Northwest Nazarene University men's basketball team held on to beat Saint Martin's University 64-62 Saturday afternoon at the SMU Pavilion.

The Crusaders (16-7, 8-6) pulled away from a 21-21 tie, outscoring SMU 21-9 in the final 5:41 of the half, getting two three-pointers and two free throws by Ryman, who finished with 20 points, in the last 1:20.

NNU stretched its 11-point halftime lead (41-30) to 16 (49-33) early in the second period and still led 59-48 before the Saints (12-12, 7-8) went on a 14-5 spurt in the final 1:28.

Saint Martin's twice pulled to within one in the last 10 seconds. But each time, NNU's Justin Parnell responded at the foul line, making three of four to establish the final two-point margin.

Ryman, who made four of eight treys, was the only player in double figures for NNU. Jason Simmons had nine points, while Parnell and Kendall Gielow had eight each.

Scott Helpenstell had a game-high 14 rebounds as NNU controlled the backboards 45-34. The Crusaders needed the extra opportunities as they shot just 34.5 percent (19 of 55).

Bill Richardson paced the Saints with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Jake Linton had 17 points and six assists.

The Crusaders, currently ranked 10th in the NCAA D.II West Region, will return to Nampa and host league-leading Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday.  Both games begin at 7 p.m. MST, with Saturday's game to feature senior night activities prior to tip-off.