Boxscore
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Converting 16 of 21 free throws in the final six minutes of the game, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team defeated Western Washington University 75-69 on Saturday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The win improves the Crusaders to 12-11 overall and an even 8-8 in conference play, while Western Washington falls to 16-8 overall and 11-5 in GNAC action. NNU swept the season-series against the Vikings, also winning 88-86 in overtime on January 22nd in Nampa, and also handed WWU just their first home loss in 12 games this season.
Brian Barkdoll led four players in double-figures with game highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, while Darious Walker added 17 points and five rebounds. Walker's 17 included a perfect 11-for-11 performance at the free throw line as the Crusaders finished the contest 28-of-36 (77.8-percent) from the line, outscoring WWU (6 of 16) by 22 at the stripe.
Jamie Eisinger scored 17 points, had seven rebounds and dished out four assists and Anthony Golden chipped in with 11, eight coming from the free throw line.
Winning four-straight, the Crusaders will look to add to the streak next week, hosting a pair of games to close out the regular season. Western Oregon University will visit Nampa on Tuesday night and Saint Martin's University will come to Idaho on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. both nights and will be part of a doubleheader each night with the NNU women's team playing at 5:15 p.m.
The Vikings held a 58-55 lead after a 3-pointer by Shedrick Nelson with 6:41 to go, but the Crusaders ran off 10 straight points, the first seven by Walker, to take a 65-58 advantage with 3:03 left.
NNU was still up by seven, 69-62, with just over a minute left, but WWU's John Allen hit a 3-pointer, then a layup, cutting the margin to two, 69-67, with 46 seconds left. But that was as close as the Vikings would get as they didn't score again until the final four seconds and Golden would go four-of-four from the free throw line to seal the road victory.
Zach Henifin led the Vikings with 17, with Rory Blanche adding 15 and Shedrick Nelson finishing with 13.
Prior to tip-off, head coach Brad Jackson and the WWU athletic department honored NNU head coach Tim Hills on his retirement at the end of the season.
