Box Score




NAMPA, Idaho — The Crusaders missed their chance to start league play on a high note.

A strong first half gave way to missed free throws and a missed opportunity to fend off visiting Alaska, as the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team couldn't keep the Nanooks from rallying to an 81-72 win at the Johnson Sports Center on Thursday night in the Great Northwest Athletics Conference opener for both teams.

"They don't come easy in this conference so this is really disappointing," NNU head coach Scott Flemming said.

"It's a shame because we had a great first half and I thought we had a lot of momentum," NNU's coach added. "There's no reason to give up a lead like that, so this is one that got away."

The Crusaders (2-4 overall, 0-1 GNAC) came out tough on both ends of the floor, out-shooting the Nanooks, 46.2 to 43.3 percent, outrebounding Alaska, 23-19, and forcing seven UAF turnovers in the first half.
 

That helped NNU build a lead as large as 29-19 in the opening 20 minutes — on a Bouna N'Diaye 3-pointer — and the Crusaders stretched their advantage to 58-44 on a Maurice Jones bucket 4 minutes into the second half.

But NNU missed seven straight free throws, including five crucial charity tosses that could have staved off a Nanook charge midway through the second half.

Instead of keeping Alaska at bay, those missed freebies allowed a Bangaly Kaba bucket to cap a 17-2 run that put the Nanooks up, 61-60.

In the end, NNU missed a costly 13-of-16 free throws which stalled the Crusaders momentum and gave the Nanooks the chance to whittle away and steal the win.

"It really came down to we weren't good defensively second half and we missed way too many free throws," Flemming said, adding, "and they shot it better than they were supposed to coming in."

The Nanooks, who came in making just 28 percent of their 3-pointers, hit their second-most triples — 10 — of the season in the win.

Of course, NNU's offense clicked pretty well, too — except from the charity stripe — as Jones finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Jayden Bezzant tossed in 16 points, and Kaileb Rodriguez added 13 points for the Crusaders, who look to rebound when they host Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 7 p.m.