Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho — Call them the "Clamp Down Crusaders!"

For the second straight game the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team clamped down defensively, turning the game around and leading to an 80-73 win over Western Washington in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in front of a vocal crowd at the Johnson Sports Center.

"I think that's the biggest growth step that we've seen this year," NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels said. "… Early in the year we didn't rise up when our backs were against the wall. … Both Thursday night and Saturday, not only do we not retreat at all, we rise up and really guard and execute.
 

"And it wasn't just one end," Daniels added. "We got stops, but we really executed and got shots and guys finished with confidence on the other end as well."

The Crusaders (7-10, 5-2 GNAC) rose up after falling behind 50-38 with 14 ½ minutes left in the game.

Three straight free throws by Harris Javier gave the perennial powerhouse Vikings — the 2012 National Champions — the biggest lead of the night, up 12.

A similar situation to an 11-point deficit NNU faced with 15 minutes left on Thursday against Simon Fraser.

That night, defense led the Crusaders to victory. Saturday, defense led the way once again.

NNU's defense allowed just three field goals and a free throw to the Vikings (9-8, 2-5) over the next 7 minutes.

The Crusader offense took advantage as an Alex Birketoft layup cut the lead down to 53-45 with 11 ½ to go, then a Kevin Rima 3-point play whittled the margin down to 55-53 just 3 minutes later.

The Crusaders finished the comeback — a 20-8 run — when Rima tossed in a free throw with 7 minutes to go, tying it, 58-58.
 

From there the Crusaders simply would not be denied, taking a 70-67 lead on two Erik Kinney free throws with 2 minutes to play, and a 74-69 edge on a pair of Aubrey Ball freebies after a defensive stop.

Kinney then slam-dunked home the exclamation point on the Crusaders third straight win and fifth victory in six outings, following a steal, putting NNU on top 78-71 and signally the start of the victory celebration with 10 seconds left.

"The guys worked so hard, we put so much time and effort into that, so when you reap the fruit of that it just means a ton," Daniels said of the team's current win streak. "More than just the scoreboard, when you work that hard and it comes together, it's just a fulfilling feeling."

Rima, who slayed the Vikings for 34 and 27 points last season, once again dominated WWU, scoring a game-high 29 points and grabbing seven rebounds for NNU.

Kinney added 18 points and six boards and Birketoft had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders, who next hit the road for games at Alaska and Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Saturday.