Box Score

CHICO, Calif. — The Crusaders turned in possibly their best effort of the season, despite what the scoreboard said.

Northwest Nazarene's offense came alive in the second half, and defensively NNU forced 10 turnovers, as the Crusaders made a strong charge only to come up short against host Chico State, 79-68, in the final game of the Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational on Saturday night.

"Obviously we are not happy with the loss, but we played our best basketball against the best team we have played this year," NNU head coach Scott Flemming said.

"We shot 72 percent in the second half and played with great energy," NNU's coach added. "Something to build on going into conference play."

Unfortunately, it came after the Crusaders saw the host Wildcats forge a 41-19 lead a minute into the second half.

From there, the Crusaders (2-3 overall) made charge after charge at Chico State, as a pair of Kaileb Rodriguez free throws cut the margin to 60-45 with 7 ½ minutes left in the game, and a Maurice Jones fast-break dunk made it a 75-64 contest in the final minute. A Bouna N'Diaye 3-pointer eventually set the final difference at 11 points.

The Crusaders shot 18-of-25 (72 percent) over the final 20 minutes and forced 10 turnovers by the Wildcats.

The offensive efficiency in the second half was the best this season for NNU, definitely a momentum-builder as the Crusaders return home to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play hosting Alaska on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Johnson Sports Center, and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 7 p.m.

N'Diaye and Rodriguez led the way with 16 points each for NNU, which also got a career-high 14 points and five rebounds from Carlos Garcia, and 12 points from Jones.