Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho – This was more than a gutsy effort to gain confidence, this was a gut-it-out and just win effort by the Crusaders.

The Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team eradicated a 10-point deficit, built a seven-point cushion of its own, then held on bravely to earn a 59-57 win over visiting Montana State Billings on Saturday night in both teams' second game of Great Northwest Athletic Conference action this season.

"I think the smile tells it all," NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels said after the victory. "It feels really good, just couldn't be prouder of our guys."
 

The win puts the Crusaders (2-7 overall, 1-1 GNAC) smack dab in the middle of the GNAC pack after the league's pre-Christmas preview – so to speak – as eight of the 10 teams played a pair of conference contests over the weekend and won't return to GNAC action for another month.

When they do, NNU will find itself in a four-way tie for fourth place in the GNAC standings, one game out of the league lead.

The Crusaders truly worked hard to earn their first league win, as the Yellowjackets (1-7, 0-2) stung NNU with an 8-0 early deficit, led the entire first half, and put the Crusaders in a 40-30 hole when Austin Hudson hit a six-footer on the first possession of the second half for MSU Billings.

That's when the work began, as a Mike Wright 3-ball cut the difference to 42-37, an Erik Kinney bucket made it 44-41, then Kevin Rima tossed in a deuce to tie it, 44-44, with 11 minutes remaining.

And while the Crusader offense chipped away, the real work was done on the other end of the floor as NNU held the 'Jackets to 6-of-26 shooting (23.1 percent) and outrebounded MSU Billings 23-17 in the final 20 minutes.

"The two things we've really been struggling with is defense, and we held them to 23 percent for the second half, and we only had 10 turnovers for the game," Daniels said. "Those are the two areas that have been our Achilles heel so to speak."
 

Not a problem on this night, though, as the Crusader defense allowed just 10 points to the Yellowjackets over the first 12 minutes of the second half, allowing NNU to forge a 52-48 lead on a Rima 3-point play with just under 8 minutes to play.

NNU never trailed again, stretching its advantage to 59-52 with just under 4 minutes to go on a Pol Olivier 3-pointer.

But, those final 4 minutes did get a bit tense as NNU went 0-for-6 and missed a free-throw attempt down the stretch.

"That's one of the things we've been talking about is learning how to win and to finish plays," Daniels said. "We got the looks that we wanted, we got great opportunities point-blank and it just didn't want to go in."

Undaunted, the Crusaders did exactly what they needed to to win ­– protect the lead.

"In the end we had to guard," the Crusaders coach said. "We had to guard to win, and so anytime you have that kind of mental toughness and team effort, that feels great."

NNU allowed Hudson two free throws and a Jordan Perry 3, then held the 'Jackets scoreless the final 2 minutes, including denying an off-balance, contested 20-foot by Antoine Hosley at the buzzer in an attempt to tie the game.

"I just thought our guys never quit believing, never stopped playing," Daniels said, adding of the win, "I think it just means a lot to us and to the guys and the whole program. They put the work in and they get the fruits of their labor there.

"Especially going into the long break it's a huge momentum builder."

The Crusaders now get almost a full month before facing another GNAC foe on January 3 when they visiting Central Washington.

Between now and then, NNU plays an exhibition at NCAA Division I foe Boise State on Thursday, then a counting game on Saturday at D-I Idaho State before wrapping up its pre-Christmas schedule with games at Cal State Monterey Bay and Dominican (Calif.) on Dec. 18 and 20.

But now NNU – which got 16 points and eight rebounds from Rima and 10 points and 10 boards from Kinney - goes into those contests savoring the sweet taste of a hard-earned victory.