Box Score

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – A fantastic first-half effort went for naught Friday night in Texas.

The Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team battled hard and held a one-point lead at the break on Texas A&M-Kingsville, but the Crusaders couldn't finish off the Javelinas, falling 84-70 in the first game of the Tarleton State Thanksgiving Classic.

"We played our best first half of the year and then ran out of steam in the last 10 minutes," NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels said.

"Turnovers continue to plague us, but I thought we took some steps forward as a team," Daniels added.

In the opening half, the Crusaders (1-5 overall) were firing away, grabbing a 30-27 lead on a pair of Mike Wright free throws with 6 ½ minutes left in the opening session, and led 43-42 after an Aubrey Ball 3-pointer as the clock expired.

The Crusaders shot 55 percent (11-of-20) from the field, were 7-of-15 from 3-point range and hit 14-of-16 free throws in the first 20 minutes.

The only drawback were those turnovers – 11 in the first half and 22 in the game – which kept NNU from blowing the game open.

NNU went right back to work in the second half, though, as a Kevin Rima layup on the first possession gave the Crusaders a 45-42 advantage.

And though the Javelinas (3-2) regained the lead, the Crusaders trailed just 54-53 with 14 minutes to go after an Erik Kinney layup.

But 8-0 run by Texas A&M-Kingsville helped break the game open and the Crusaders never got closer then 68-61 down on a Ball 3-ball.

Ball finished with a game-high 22 points, while Kinney added 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and Wright scored 10 for the Crusaders, who play tournament host and No. 8-ranked Tarleton State tonight at 6 p.m. (MT).