Boxscore

BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Forward Zach Bruce had game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds as Western Washington University broke open a tight game midway through the second half and defeated Northwest Nazarene University, 81-61, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest Thursday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings, No.18 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll and No.2 in the West Region Poll, improved to 20-3 overall and stay second in the GNAC at 7-2, moving to within a game of first-place Seattle Pacific University, which lost, 85-72, at Central Washington.

NNU, ranked 10th in the West Region Poll, fell to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the GNAC.  Forward Drew Eisinger led the Crusaders with 17 points and Anthony Golden finished with nine.

The contest was tied at 45-45 with 11:30 to go before the Vikings broke the game open, going on an 18-2 run to take a 63-47 lead with seven minutes left.  Guard Morris Anderson, who finished with 13 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals, had six points and four assists in the charge.

The Vikings shot 67.7 percent (21-of-31) from the field in the second half, and 54.8 percent (34-of-62) for the game.  Guard Andrew Ready had 12 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field.  Forwards Rory Blanche and Derrick Webb each had 10 points, with Blanche also getting seven rebounds as Western posted a 36-27 advantage on the boards.

The Vikings had a 24-12 lead with 7:36 left in the first half, but NNU used a 12-2 run to narrow the margin to two, 26-24, with 1:19 left in the period. Western held a 30-26 lead at halftime.