BILLINGS, Mont. – The Northwest Nazarene University men's basketball team fell 99-88 on Saturday to Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game.

NNU (6-4 overall, 2-2 GNAC) trailed by 19 at halftime, but cut the deficit to five late in the second half. The Nighthawks couldn't complete the comeback, though, as the Yellowjackets (9-6, 1-3) blew it back open with an 11-2 run.

"Our guys responded really well in the second half and showed a lot of fight and determination to come back and make it a game," NNU head coach Paul Rush said. "MSUB did a great job pressuring us into turnovers and shooting the ball, and built a lead we could never really come back from."

Obi Megwa led all scorers with 25 points, five assists and three rebounds. Khalil Thompson added 16 points, Maurice Jones had nine points and 10 rebounds, Sam Roth had nine points, and Nikola Prvulj and Olamilekan Adetunji had seven points each.

"I need to do a better job preparing them for the type of pressure we saw, so we don't get in such a big deficit early," Rush said.

NNU used a 9-0 run to pull within 83-78 with 4:07 left, as Megwa made two layups, Thompson had a breakway layup and two free throws and Adetunji added a free throw. It wasn't enough, though as the Nighthawks couldn't complete the rally.