NAMPA, Idaho – With their playoff hopes on the line, the Northwest Nazarene University men's basketball team held off Concordia for a 78-68 victory Saturday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

NNU (12-12 overall, 8-10 GNAC) used a 10-3 run in the final minutes to put the game away to send seniors Dylan Brink, Marko Lepovic and Maurice Jones home winners.

"It was great," Lepovic said. "Proud of Mo, Dylan and everyone else. We played hard. It was a little up and down, but in the end we got the win which is what matters."

The victory keeps NNU's faint playoff hopes alive. The Nighthawks are tied with Alaska for seventh with two games to play and one game behind Alaska Anchorage for the final playoff spot. The Seawolves were playing at Simon Fraser late Saturday night.

The two Alaska schools play each other Tuesday and then both travel to Montana State Billings to face the Yellowjackets next weekend.

The Nighthawks play at Saint Martin's on Thursday and at Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

"Next weekend those two games are our biggest games of the season," NNU's Obi Megwa said. "It is what it's come down to and we have to go down there and play well."

The Nighthawks defeated both teams in Nampa earlier this season.

"These last two games, we've been playing hard and giving our best every possession," Lepovic said. "We've just got to have the same mentality going into next week and keep it going. It is going to be two tough games, but they are very winnable games.

"I think we just have to stay focused, locked in and give our best."

On the run that put the game away, NNU led 64-60 with 4 minutes to go. Megwa started it off with two free throws, Jones then had a three-point play, two free throws and a jumper and Jayden Bezzant finished it with a free throw for a 74-63 lead.

Megwa finished with 20 points, while Jones had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Bezzant had 17 points and six rebounds, while Lepovic had eight points and four rebounds and Brink had eight points.

"It was extremely important to send those guys out with a win," Megwa said. "Those three guys have contributed so much to this program. If anything, the underclassmen's job was to get them a win tonight and we did that."