BURNABY, B.C. – For the third time in as many league games, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team found itself down double digits late in the second half.

After rallying for big victories the last two times out, it wasn't meant to be Thursday.

Jayden Bezzant's 3-pointer as time expired rimmed off and the Nighthawks lost 78-77 to Simon Fraser in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"We can't keep spotting teams leads," NNU coach Paul Rush said. "We have to be more engaged defensively earlier in the game and try not to play from behind every time we are on the road. Hopefully it's a lesson we learned after this one."

Last week the Nighthawks (15-4 overall, 10-3 GNAC) rallied from 16 down to defeat Central Washington and then rallied from 27 down to defeat Montana State Billings.

On Thursday, Simon Fraser led by 13 at one point in the second half and 12 with seven minutes left. NNU chipped away, but still trailed 73-65 with 3:59 remaining.

A quick 6-0 run made it 73-71 and eventually the Nighthawks pulled within 76-75 on a layup by Adonis Arms with 52 seconds remaining.

Simon Fraser split a pair of free throws and Arms missed a layup in traffic. After the Clan again split a pair of free throws, Bezzant passed up a 3-point attempt and made a quick layup to make it 78-77 with 12 seconds left.

A quick foul and two missed free throws by the Clan set up the finish. Sam Roth grabbed the defensive board and got Obi Megwa the ball at halfcourt. Megwa drove to the basket and when the defense collapsed he kicked it out to Bezzant for the potential game-winner.

"He got a clean look," Rush said. "I have to do a better job of getting our guys in good positions at the end of the game like that. Everyone feels different if that shot goes in."

The Nighthawks were playing without Felix White and Nikola Prvulj who could not travel across the border. Add in foul trouble for Arms and the Nighthawks did well just to get back into the game.

Arms finished with a game-high 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. Megwa added 13 points and Bezzant had 11. Olamilekan Adetunji had eight points and six rebounds, while Adalberto Diaz had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

With the loss, NNU falls out of a tie for first with Saint Martin's. The Nighthawks play at 8 p.m. MST on Saturday at Western Washington.