Box Score




NAMPA, Idaho — It's been an up and down season so far for the Crusaders, and Saturday night NNU fell into one of those dips.

Visiting Colorado Christian shot 55 percent from the field and 56 percent from beyond the arc to topple the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team, 103-84, Saturday night at the Johnson Sports Center in the final game of the Taco Bell Shootout hosted by the Crusaders and The College of Idaho.

"They shot the lights out, they shot it really well," NNU head coach Scott Flemming said, adding, "but we were part of that, we've got to get better defensively."

Giving up 13 3-pointers on the night made it tough for NNU (2-1 overall), as the Crusaders saw an early lead slip away.

Colorado Christian finished the night 13-of-23 from beyond the arc, and 37-of-67 overall from the field.
 

NNU led 16-8 early, though, after a Jayden Bezzant 3-pointer. And a Pol Olivier triple had the home team up 23-16 with 8 minutes gone before the Cougars sprung.

Jacob Taylor ignited a 13-1 run with an old-fashioned 3-point play for Colorado Christian (3-1), a run capped by a Ty McGee hoop-and-harm 3.

NNU hung around, down 37-32 after a Bouna N'Diaye 3-ball, but a Brenden Mann 3-pointer sparked a 14-2 charge into the locker room by the Cougars, who then stretched the lead to 53-34 with the opening bucket of the second half.

With Colorado Christian's hot shooting, the lead proved to be too much to overcome.

Not that NNU didn't try to battle back, as a Carlos Garcia putback capped a 10-3 NNU charge in the second half.

"The one thing I'll say, I feel like this is a group, they didn't quit," Flemming said.

"But we've got some things to fix, but I saw some flashes of great play."

Kaileb Rodriguez led the way for NNU with his third straight double-double, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while N'Diaye and Jalen Shepard each added 16 points. Shepard also finished with nine assists, and Maurice Jones threw in 13 points for the Crusaders, who next play the rivalry game as they head to Caldwell, Idaho, to play The College of Idaho on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first part of the United Heritage Mayor's Cup series.