NAMPA, Idaho – For one half, there was plenty to celebrate.

The Crusaders grabbed a lead, the fans roared, then at halftime Northwest Nazarene celebrated 80 years of basketball history.

Then, Point Loma spoiled it all, rallying to beat the Northwest Nazarene men 65-54 in the men's basketball season opener for both teams Friday.

"I was very proud of the effort that the men gave tonight," NNU coach Dave Daniels said. "We played well enough to win, we just didn't make shots."

Riding the momentum of a capacity crowd, the Crusaders (0-1 overall) slowly inched away in the opening half, building as much as a 30-23 lead on a Pol Olivier 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 33 seconds remaining until halftime.

Point Loma (1-0) hung around, closing to 32-29 down at the half thanks to a Sam Okhotin bucket, but NNU responded out of the gate to start the second half.

A Michael Loomis 3 followed by a Josh Amey driving layup reestablished the 7-point lead for the Crusaders.

Then things stalled.

Over the next 10 minutes, the Sea Lions inched away on a 20-3 run, taking a 50-40 lead on two Judd Welfringer free throws with 9:54 remaining.

Despite the long lull, the Crusaders still had a chance to win as a Kevin Rima bucket reignited NNU's offensive with 8:35 remaining.

Grayson Moore's offensive putback trimmed the margin to 55-52 with 3:29 to play, but the comeback came up short from there as the Sea Lions held on for the win, hitting six late free throws to ice the victory.

Welfringer led the way for the Sea Lions with 21 points, while AJ Ussery added 10 points and 14 rebounds and Hayden Lescault chipped in 15 points for PLNU.

Rima led the way for NNU with 15 points and nine rbeounds while Loomis scored 10 for the Crusaders, who despite the loss, impressed their coach.

"I thought there was significant improvement from Tuesday to this night," Daniels said. "That's all I ask of them is to play hard and get better, and I think if we continue on that path we'll be good."

The next chance to improve, and go for win No. 1 of the season, comes quickly for the Crusaders who host Willamette at 7 on Monday night.