Box Score

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Crusaders will have to settle for taking one big step forward in becoming a GNAC powerhouse instead of hoisting the GNAC Championship Trophy.

A slow start Friday night cost the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team, which fell for the second time in less than a week to Seattle Pacific as the Crusaders suffered a season-ending, 73-54 loss in the semifinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament hosted by Montana State Billings.

"It's a bittersweet feeling," said NNU head men's basketball coach Dave Daniels whose team finished the season 14-16 overall and as one of the top four teams in the GNAC. "It's always tough when the season is over, but I am extremely proud of the way that these men came together and finished the second half of the season. Winning 12 games against GNAC opponents is no small accomplishment."
 

NNU started the season 1-7 but gelled as a team over the Christmas break and charged up the league standings, earning its first playoff berth in four years and then scoring its first playoff win in that long by beating Central Washington on Thursday, 79-73, in the opening round of the GNAC Tournament.

But that's where a fantastic run ended for the Crusaders, who got just two Erik Kinney free throws and a Kinney field goal in the opening 7 ½ minutes against the Falcons (22-7), who forged a 17-4 lead and never looked back.

Not that NNU didn't put up a valiant fight to get back into the game, chipping away in the second half and closing a large deficit down to 59-46 on a Mike Wright 3-pointer, only to find there wasn't enough time to finish a comeback.

While the outcome was bittersweet and left the Crusaders short of their ultimate goal – the NCAA Division II National Tournament - playing in the GNAC semifinals set the stage for great things yet to come, a fact that NNU's coach brought up after the game to a team that loses just three seniors.

"I told the men in the locker room that we have laid a strong foundation on which to build upon next year and the years to come," NNU's coach said.

Kinney, a junior who will be back to lead NNU's charge in the future, led the way on Friday with 16 points and six rebounds.

Senior Matyas Hering finished his collegiate career with six points while fellow senior Kevin Rima had five points in his finale college contest. NNU's third senior, Aubrey Ball, did not play in Friday's finale.