Box Score


PORTLAND, Ore. — Another tough night shooting sank the Crusaders.

Off to a slow start after being forced to travel on game-day — because of a flight cancelation — the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team fell behind early and never fully recovered in a 70-55 loss at Concordia in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday night.

"We struggled shooting the basketball tonight, both from the perimeter and the free-throw line," NNU head coach Scott Flemming said, adding, "but we battled on the boards and gave ourselves multiple second and third shots.

"But we can't put ourselves in a catch-up position," Flemming added.

NNU (4-5 overall, 1-2 GNAC) outrebounded the host Cavaliers, 40-39 total and 13-11 on the offensive end, but shot 20-of-57 from the field (35.1 percent), just 3-of-18 from beyond the arc (16.7 percent), and went 12-of-26 at the free-throw line.

That helped the Cavaliers (6-4, 2-1) jump up 7-0, and as NNU got into the flow of the game a little late, it never erased that minor deficit.

Though the Crusaders tried as a Maurice Jones layup made it a 7-6 game early, and a pair of Bouna N'Diaye free throws cut the difference down to 48-37 midway through the second half.

But that was the best the travel-weary Crusaders could do playing a few short hours after flying from Boise to Portland.

"We played much better in the second half," Flemming said. "We now have to turn it around quickly because we have another tough road game Saturday."

Saturday, NNU plays at defending league champion Western Oregon in a New Year's Eve matinee with tip-off at 3 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Jones led the way for NNU with 16 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's contest, while Kaileb Rodriguez added 13 points and seven boards for the Crusaders.