Box Score




NAMPA, Idaho — The Crusaders' "Senior Night" festivities went perfectly, and the emotions carried over into the game.

And while those emotions provided fuel for a strong start, the Northwest Nazarene men couldn't slow down the hot-shooting Western Washington Vikings, who pulled away for an 83-59 win over NNU at the Johnson Sports Center on Saturday night.
 

After honoring senior players Kaileb Rodriguez, Pol Olivier and Bouna N'Diaye, along with student assistant Levi Stuart, prior to tip-off, the Crusaders got things rolling with back-to-back Rodriguez buckets early for a 6-2 lead.

The visiting first-place Vikings rallied to take the lead, but an N'Diaye 3-pointer had the Crusaders close early, down 17-14.

But NNU (12-12 overall, 9-9 GNAC) couldn't slow down Western Washington enough, as a Taylor Stafford 3-ball capped a 12-2 run, and from there the Vikings kept stretching the lead.

Down 49-34 at the break, the Crusaders tried to hang around, but a Trevor Jasinsky 3-pointer with 5 minutes left to play stretched the Vikings lead to as much as 28 points, an insurmountable lead.

N'Diaye finished with a game-high 27 points in his home finale, while fellow senior, Rodriguez, had 14 points, and Olivier added two points and five steals. Maurice Jones also chipped in 16 points and 14 rebounds for NNU, which remains in strong position to make the six-team GNAC Playoffs as the Crusaders are in a three-way tie for fourth, fifth and sixth with two games remaining in the regular season.

NNU closes out its season in Alaska, playing at Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska on Saturday.