NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene point guard Obi Megwa might want to consider a career teaching geometry.

The Nighthawks senior put on a master class in finishing at the basket Thursday night, banking in leaners, floaters and layups on his way to 26 points.

NNU (8-2 overall, 3-1 GNAC) defeated Montana State Billings 94-79 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, ending a five-game winning streak for the Yellowjackets (7-4, 2-1).

"It's just a lot of practice," he said. "Just finishing around the basket, doing different easy drills and finding different angles around the basket. That has really helped me a lot."

Another big change this season is Megwa's ability to shoot from the outside. The defense can no longer sag off and dare him to shoot.

On Thursday, he was 11-of-15 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

"I'm usually looking for a little gap I can kind of fit myself into," he said. "If the defense is on me, I'm trying to go by as fast as I can."

Megwa added six rebounds and five assists for a stellar all-around night. His ability wasn't lost on his teammates either.

"Obi is just so strong," Adonis Arms said. "You look at some point guards in this league – I haven't played everybody yet – but you look at the point guards and when he goes to the basket it is just weight on weight and he is going to win the majority of the time."

The Nighthawks have enjoyed a lot of winning so far this season. They are off to their best start since the 2007-08 season when they opened 10-2 en route to a 17-10 overall record.

"We said it from the beginning: We think this team could win the whole conference to be honest," Megwa said. "We just have to keep it going and get better every single day and keep playing defense."

The Nighthawks started off sluggish, falling behind 16-7 just five minutes into the game. A 10-0 run erased that deficit and NNU was in control the rest of the night.

"What changed was the defensive intensity," Arms said. "We are a hard team to stop offensively, so once we lock in on defense we are really good."

Arms had an off night shooting the ball, though he had a monster all-around game, scoring 17 points, dishing out five assists, grabbing four rebounds, three steals and blocked three shots.

Jayden Bezzant added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while James Nelson had six points and seven rebounds and Adalberto Diaz had 12 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots. NNU blocked nine shots in the game.

The Nighthawks host Western Washington at 7:30 p.m. Thursday as there is a doubleheader with the women's team playing at 5:15.

NNU will hope to continue its red-hot start.

"The only thing that could be better is an undefeated season," Arms said. "We have to just keep our foot on the gas pedal and not take any team for granted."