NAMPA, Idaho – In an offseason meeting, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team was discussing what they wanted their identity to be this year.

Senior forward Adalberto Diaz spoke up and said he wanted everyone to buy-in on the defensive side of the ball.

The Nighthawks (1-0 overall) showed the buy-in is successful so far in a 66-57 victory Tuesday against the College of Idaho in the United Heritage Mayors' Cup game at Johnson Sports Center.

"We decided early in the offseason and the summer that we were going to be a defense, lock-down team," NNU redshirt freshman Jaylen Fox said. "We pride ourselves on that and we work on it every day and we got it done."

The Coyotes (4-1) jumped out to a 23-11 lead, making their first three 3-pointers. From there, NNU held College of Idaho to 34 more points and only two more 3-pointers.

"Ball pressure and defense are what we are going to need to win," NNU redshirt junior Sam Roth said. "We have some good scorers, but not the same as last year. So, we have to pride ourselves on defense."

With Adonis Arms transferred, Obi Megwa graduated and Jayden Bezzant sidelined, the Nighthawks are lacking a bit on the offensive side of the ball. They are also filled with a ton of youth, starting two redshirt-freshmen and having two others contribute minutes.

Despite all of that, the Nighthawks grinded out a key win in a big game against a fierce rival.

"The emotion was there and we knew it would be an intense game," Fox said. "We just stayed focused and composed and got it done."

Fox was a big reason why.

He was 4-for-5 from the field for a game-high 15 points. He also had four assists and no turnovers. Roth added 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Diaz had nine points and six rebounds and George Reidy had eight points.

"We have a bunch of high character guys that play the game really hard and did a good job of staying focused through a rough start and kind of overcoming those early season jitters," NNU coach Paul Rush said. "Some of the mistakes we were making in the first half were really not characteristic of who we are.

"I felt like we were able to settle in and lock in and not give up as many easy looks."

NNU went on a 12-3 run to get back into the game as Fox hit a deep 3-pointer, Roth had a jumper, Olamilekan Adetunji had a layup, Roth hit another jumper and Diaz a 3-pointer to make it 26-23.

After six quick points by College of Idaho stretched it back out to 32-23, NNU closed the half on a 13-2 run.

Fox hit another 3-pointer and a free throw, Reidy hit a corner 3, Zac Furgerson had a layup, Adetunji added a short jumper and Ezekiel Alley closed the half with a layup.

"It's awesome," Roth said. "We love to beat these guys and hopefully we can get them again next Tuesday. It's not over."

NNU hosts Colorado Christian at 8 p.m. Friday in the Fairfield Inn Classic.

For the game, the Coyotes shot 19-of-59 for 32.2 percent and 5-of-26 from beyond the arc. NNU didn't shoot much better, but it was enough to get the victory.

Adetunji finished with seven points and nine rebounds, while Alley had five points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

"It's exciting, but we have another game Friday and another game Saturday," Fox said. "We just got to get back in the lab and get to work."