Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho  - Oh so close, yet again.

For the second time this season the Crusaders had the chance to topple the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top team only to see No. 20 Western Oregon escape with the victory, this time 66-62 on Saturday night at the Johnson Sports Center.

"I'm disappointed we didn't win, I'm not disappointed in the guys at all," NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels said. "I thought we really competed and battled. I'm really proud of them, we just turned the ball over, that's the whole game."
 

The Crusaders (10-12, 8-4 GNAC) dominated large stretches off the game, taking control late in the first half and erasing a 32-25 deficit with a 4 minute, 12-0 run into the locker room.

Mike Wright capped the charge racing up court in the final 5 seconds and hanging under the basket to convert a reverse lay-in.

Western Oregon (20-3, 12-1) regained the lead early in the final stanza, going up 43-37 on a Julian Nichols 3-pointer, but the Crusaders determination led to an 8-1 surge capped by a Matyas Hering 3, and the battle to the finish was on.

The teams traded the lead back and forth, but with 2 ½ minutes remaining, it looked like NNU might have broken free as Kevin Rima drew a foul under the basket and promptly sank both free throws for a 61-57 Crusader advantage.

But holding a 1-point lead with 2 ½ minutes to play in Monmouth, Ore., wasn't enough to get NNU the win last month, and the 4-point cushion didn't last Saturday night, either.

Six-foot-6 forward Andy Avgi hit just his 13^th 3-pointer of the season, which proved very unlucky for NNU, which then turned the ball over and Nichols put WOU on top for good with a layup.

Two Devon Alexander free throws with 15 seconds left stretched the Wolves lead to 64-61, forcing the Crusaders to get a 3.
 

They went to Hering in the left corner and he drew a foul, but one missed free throw sealed NNU's fate.

"I thought we executed really well at the end and Matty did a good job getting him in the air," Daniels said of NNU's senior drawing the foul and earning a chance to tie the game. "I love him at the free-throw line in that situation."

But one missed free throw wasn't the difference. It was the small mistakes throughout the game that added up Coach Daniels pointed out.

"Twenty-one turnovers against a Top 20 team is not going to put you in a good place," he said, "and we still had a chance to win."

That is a promising fact, as the Crusaders continue their drive towards the postseason with games at Simon Fraser on Thursday and Western Washington on Saturday.

Alex Birketoft led the Crusaders in Saturday's contest, scoring 15 points, while Erik Kinney added 13 points and eight rebounds and Wright and Rima each added 10 points apiece.