Box Score

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Crusader coach Dave Daniels spent much of the early season saying his team needed to learn how to win.

Seems like they are mastering that lesson as the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team shook off a two-week lay-off and rallied to beat host Central Washington, 74-67, in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday night.

The win was the second straight for NNU (4-9 overall, 2-1 GNAC), which beat Dominican 60-51 on Dec. 20 in its last time out, and the second straight victory in GNAC play as well for the Crusaders, who held off Montana State Billings 59-57 on Dec. 6 in Nampa, Idaho.

The loss was the first league setback for the first-place Wildcats (7-3, 2-1).

"Great way to bring in the new year," NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels said. "The best effort we put forth this season."

Early on, though, the Crusaders offense struggled, hitting just three field goals and turning the ball over seven times.

NNU weathered its brief offensive woes with good defense, though, and trailed just 25-12 after the Wildcats' Marc Rodgers hit a 3-pointer with 13 minutes gone.

"I thought our plus-21 on the boards and defensively holding them to 32 percent shooting was the key," said Daniels, whose team outrebounded CWU, 50-29, and held the Wildcats to 20-of-62 (32.3 percent) shooting.

And with the defense holding steady, the Crusaders offense clicked into high gear during a 26-7 run over the next 10 ½ minutes that put NNU in control.

Erik Kinney's driving bucket with 2 minutes left until halftime cut CWU's lead down to 27-23, and a David Shedrick 3-ball sent NNU into the locker room down just 30-29.

A Mike Wright deuce capped a 6-0 start to the second half for NNU, and when Kevin Rima tossed in a free throw with 16 ½ minutes to play, the Crusaders found themselves on top 38-32.

The Wildcats tried to respond, taking a brief 51-50 lead midway through the second half and tying it 63-63 with just under 5 minutes to go, but NNU wouldn't let the win slip away.

An Alex Birketoft 3 snapped that tie, and two free throws by Bouna N'Diaye pushed NNU's lead to 70-64, and the Crusaders held on from there for the win.

Kinney scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Crusaders, while Rima had his 11^th career double-double with 17 points and 11 boards.

Birketoft – who became eligible at mid-season - added five points and 10 rebounds in his fourth game for NNU, while Wright had six points, five rebounds and five assists in the victory.

"Erik was excellent on both ends of the floor," Daniels said, adding, "and Kevin really settled in and made some big plays down the stretch.

"And Alex and Bouna (7 points, 8 rebounds) chipped in strongly in the rebounding effort as well, and Pol (Olivier, 8 points) gave us a huge spark off the bench" NNU's coach added.

The Crusaders now look to stretch their win streak to three, or even four games, when they hit the road for two more league contests on Thursday and Saturday, playing at Western Oregon and St. Martin's, respectively.