CALDWELL, Idaho - Two free throws by Brian Barkdoll with 2:58 remaining broke the only tie of the game and Northwest Nazarene went on to edge College of Idaho 55-54 Tuesday in the United Heritage Tip-Off Series at the J.A. Albertson Center in Caldwell. 

Boxscore and Stats

Barkdoll finished with 12 points and was one of three players in double figures in the exhibition game for Northwest Nazarene. Point guard Jamie Eisinger led the Crusaders with 16 points and Darious Walker had 11.

December 13th, 1997 was the last time the visiting team won on the road in the longest running basketball rivalry in the State of Idaho.  The Crusaders defeated the Coyotes 77-57 in the Golden Rule Shootout in Caldwell in 1997 and tonight marked the 189th meeting between the two Canyon County universities.

"I was excited tonight about our defense," commented NNU head coach Tim Hills.  "Lateef (Williams) did a great job with his assignment and we played good team defense."  Charged with guarding C of I's main outside threat Matt Ballenger, Williams and Anthony Golden held Ballenger to just two points on 1 of 10 shooting.  Ballenger came into the contest averaging 12.5 points per game.

Jamie Eisinger provided what turned out to be the winning point when he made one of two free throws with five seconds left. A three-pointer by C of I's Kelly McCarty with two seconds left then cut the final margin to a single point.

Steve Peres had 10 points and was the only player in double figures for the Coyotes who led just twice in the game - for a grand total of 41 seconds. The lone tie lasted nearly four times as long (for 2 1/2 minutes).

College of Idaho (2-3), which played the game as a counter, outboarded NNU 40-27, getting 16 from Krispin Banks. But, they also made 11 more turnovers (25-14) as the Crusaders (2-0 in exhibitions) had 11 steals, five by Walker.

Paul Egwuonwu led the Crusaders on the glass with seven and both Walker and Drew Eisinger had six.

The Crusaders will open regular-season play on November 19th at the George Boedecker Classic, hosted by Fort Lewis College in Colorado.  NNU will face UC Colorado Springs on November 19th and host Fort Lewis College on Saturday, November 20th.