Box Score

SEATTLE, Wash. – The Crusaders now know there will be three steps in their road to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Host Seattle Pacific held the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team to its lowest shooting percentage of the season (29.6 percent), prevailing 60-49 in a defensive struggle in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Saturday night.

"I was very proud of how the guys battled tonight," NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels said. "We just struggled to make a shot and keep them off the offensive boards."

The Falcons' win in the regular-season finale for both teams secured the No. 2 spot in next week's GNAC tournament for SPU, and means the Crusaders now need three wins to earn the program's first-ever berth to the NCAA tournament.

The Crusaders begin their first GNAC postseason trip since 2010-11 against Central Washington on Thursday night at 5:15 p.m. in Billings, Mont.

"We are moving our focus forward to making a run in the GNAC Tournament," Daniels said, looking ahead to Thursday's match-up with the Wildcats, who NNU beat twice during the regular season.

The Falcons earned the No. 2 seed in the GNAC by breaking the game open in the second half, as the Crusaders (13-15, 11-7 GNAC) trailed just 23-18 at the break in a game that saw both teams combined for just 16 first-half field goals.

The defensive struggled continued in the second half, but with NNU trailing just 28-24 following an Alex Birketoft layup, SPU began inching away.

A Matt Borton bucket it made 33-24 with 16 minutes to play, and a Mitch Penner layup stretched the margin to 37-25 with 13 minutes to go in the game.

A Kevin Rima bucket with 2 ½ minute left cut the margin down to nine points, and two Rima free throws in the final minute did the same, but the Crusaders never managed to get closer.

Rima and Birketoft each scored 14 points in the setback to lead NNU, which also got 12 points from Erik Kinney in the regular-season finale.