Boxscore

NAMPA, Idaho - Using a balanced offensive attack, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team defeated Seattle Pacific University 81-70 on Saturday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at the Johnson Sports Center.

 

NNU (10-11, 6-8 GNAC) placed five players in double-figures to overcome a tremendous effort from SPU's 6-11 post Andy Poling.  Poling, a sophomore transfer from Gonzaga, scored a game and career-high 35 points on 17 of 23 shooting but was the only Falcon to reach double-figures.

 

The Crusaders were led by Drew Eisinger with 15, Brian Barkdoll and Paul Egwuonwu each scored 14, Darious Walked added 13, and Lateef Williams had 11.  The Crusaders shot 64-percent (32-50) from the floor and were 14-of-19 from the free throw line, outscoring the Falcons by 10 at the stripe.

 

Williams led the NNU effort on the glass with seven as the Crusaders out-rebounded the Falcons 29 to 18.

 

Following Poling for the Falcons (16-7, 10-5 GNAC) were Ryan Sweet with nine and David Downs with eight.  Poling scored 24 of his 35 in the second half, including the first 10 of the period.

 

NNU led 36-33 at the half and stretched the lead to 13 after an Egwuonwu jumper in the paint with 8:39 left made it 59-46.  However, the Falcons rallied, outscoring the Crusaders 12 to 1 over the next three minutes, cutting the lead to just two at 60-58 with 5:24 remaining. 

 

The Crusaders responded with a Drew Eisinger three-pointer and some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, making 10 of 12 free throws during the final three minutes.  Walker put an exclamation point on the victory with two dunks in the final minute to seal the win.

 

NNU will travel to Simon Fraser University and Western Washington University next weekend for a pair of GNAC road counters.  The Crusaders will then finish out the regular season at home against Western Oregon and Saint Martins on February 22nd and 24th, respectively.