Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Heart can only carry you so far. Sometimes you simply need a few healthy bodies.

The Northwest Nazarene men once again displayed their heart and determination, dominating host Alaska Anchorage for the first half of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest Thursday night.

But in the end, another injury to the hobbled Crusaders allowed the host Seawolves just enough of a break to escape with a 92-83 comeback win.

"I couldn't be prouder of my guys. They gave everything they had from start to finish," said NNU coach Dave Daniels, whose team played without senior guard and leading scorer Mario Donaldson (14.6 ppg).

Still, the Crusaders came out on fire, hitting 22-of-37 shots (59.5 percent) in the opening half, including 9-of-17 3-pointers (52.9 percent), en route to a 31-15 lead with 11 minutes, 22 seconds gone after a Derek Isaak triple.

The Crusaders (5-9 overall, 3-3 GNAC) maintained a comfortable advantage on the Seawolves the entire half, taking a 55-45 lead into the locker room.

"The first half was one of the best I've ever had a team play," Daniels said.

UAA (10-7, 3-3) found some rhythm in the second half and began chipping away, tying the game on a Travis Thompson 3 with 14:21 left, and taking a 63-61 with 13:51 to left on a Thompson layup.

NNU hung tough, grabbing 65-64 lead on a Michael Loomis bucket, but when Grayson Moore went down with an ankle injury with 11:13 to play – returning to the bench on crutches – the Crusaders chances to hold off the Seawolves took a big hit.

"Losing Grayson to a severe ankle sprain early in the second half was devastating with an already depleted bench," Daniels said, adding, "we just ran out of steam in the second half."

And the Seawolves inched away, taking a 75-65 advantage against the wounded and weary Crusaders after a Teancum Stafford layup with 8:23 remaining.

NNU closed to 79-76 down on an Isaak 3-pointer, but Colton Lauwers answered with a triple for the Seawolves with 5:37 left, and UAA never let NNU get within a possession again.

Kevin Rima led the Crusaders with 23 points on the night, while Isaak added 21 points, Loomis scored 11 and Matyas Hering had 10 points and 11 rebounds for NNU, which next plays at Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night.

Thompson led all scorers with a game-high 34 points for the Seawolves.