BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the second time in three games, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball couldn't solve Seattle Pacific.

The Nighthawks lost 89-81 to the Falcons on Friday night in the GNAC Basketball Championships semifinals at Carver Gym on Western Washington's campus.

NNU struggled to get stops throughout the game and lacked consistency on offense.

"They played a good game today and they shot it well," NNU sophomore Sam Roth said. "Personally, I think we had a lot of defensive lapses. I think we were inconsistent and I think one of their strengths was that they are consistent as a team and they were consistent today."

The Falcons defeated NNU in the final regular-season game last Saturday 87-82.

With the loss, NNU (20-8) is left to hope for an at large bid to the NCAA national tournament. The selection show is at 8:30 p.m. MDT on Sunday.

Even if NNU doesn't earn a bid, the Nighthawks have had a fantastic season. They reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the school went to NCAA Division II in 2001, reached the GNAC tournament for just the third time and picked up the program's third GNAC tournament victory.

"This season was so much better than last year or the year before," NNU junior Jayden Bezzant said. "It was definitely a success for us this year."

On Friday, it looked like the Nighthawks were going to have their way with the Falcons.

NNU scored the first seven points of the game and were playing aggressive defense, hustling for loose balls and rebounding well.

But the Falcons weathered the storm and got the Nighthawks out of sync offensively and then used a huge run to blow the game open.

NNU led 38-32 with 2 minutes left in the first half before the Falcons closed on a 8-1 run for a 40-39 lead at halftime. They stretched the run to 14-1 and 29-8, eventually taking a 61-46 lead.

"Defensively, we gave them too many straight line drives to the basket," NNU coach Paul Rush said. "There was a lot of easy shots they made that we didn't do a good job defending and our on ball defense was weak."

NNU eventually cut the deficit to 85-81 late, but couldn't finish the miracle comeback.

"They played hard on defense and they stayed in front of us well," Bezzant said. "I think we just didn't capitalize on opportunities and got a little bit passive and didn't attack."

GNAC Player of the Year Adonis Arms finished with 18 points before fouling out with 4:08 remaining. Obi Megwa may have played his final game in a Nighthawks uniform, finishing with 16 points and four assists.

Bezzant added 16 points, while Olamilekan Adetunji had eight points and seven rebounds and Adalberto Diaz had six points and six rebounds.

"We've been able to accomplish a lot this season, which is awesome for the program and a good stepping stone to build off of," Roth said. "But I think if you talk to any guy in that locker room, everyone would say that we could have done better. With the talent we have, we could have been more successful."

Now it is up to the NCAA committee to see if the Nighthawks get a chance to continue that success this year or if they will be looking toward next season.