Boxscore

NAMPA, Idaho - Western Washington shot 58.9 percent from the floor and knocked home eight three pointers as the Vikings defeated the Crusaders 83-68 on Thursday night in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference home opener for Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.

 

Morris Anderson led the Vikings (10-2, 2-0 GNAC) with a game and season-high 30 points, hitting on six of eight three point attempts.  Four other WWU players reached double-figures with Steve Alford adding 12, Calen Schell scoring 11 and both Ira Graham and David Brittinen netting 10.  Schell also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

 

Brian Barkdoll led the Crusaders (9-4, 1-2 GNAC) with 16 points and four rebounds, while Kendall Gielow scored 12.

 

NNU shot 50 percent (28 of 56) from the floor, but committed 18 turnovers and lost the battle on the glass 26-32.

 

"Western shot the ball extremely well tonight and made it tough on us from the outside," commented NNU head coach Tim Hills.  "They are a good team and we just couldn't match their second-half run."

 

The Crusaders will look to rebound on Saturday afternoon when they host Western Oregon at 2:00 p.m. in a GNAC counter.