MONMOUTH, Ore. – Northwest Nazarene senior Olamilekan Adetunji had the best scoring night of his career Thursday.

But it was his defense down the stretch that helped the Nighthawks earn their fourth consecutive win.

NNU defeated Western Oregon 87-82 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action after trailing by as many as 12 in the second half.

"Spider is a special player and as a senior and a leader is the type of guy who is mentally tough enough to handle that type of game," NNU coach Paul Rush said. "His leadership on the court on defense and rebounds and finishing around the basket was good to see tonight."

Adetunji finished with a career-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocks to lead the Nighthawks, who trailed 77-74 with 4 minutes, 14 seconds left.

The 6-foot-9 Nigerian then went to work defensively, blocking a shot and grabbing two steals on the next three Western Oregon possessions.

In between, Sam Roth hit a pair of jumpers, Jaylen Fox a 3-pointer and Ezekiel Alley a layup for an 83-77 lead with 1:33 remaining.

Adalberto Diaz made two key free throws with 26 seconds to go to protect a three-point lead.

"Tonight was an example of the toughness these guys have," Rush said. "To have the season start the way it did for us with a tough loss at Western Washington and a tough home loss to Central Washington, these guys have stayed committed to showing up every day at practice and getting better."

Alley finished with 19 points, ending his streak of scoring at least 20 points at three games. He added five rebounds.

Jayden Bezzant had 16 points and five assists, Diaz had nine points and five rebounds, Fox had nine points and Roth had eight.

"We have a really unselfish group," Rush said. "Zeke and JB and George (Reidy) are guys that can go score most times down the floor by themselves, but they are an unselfish group that has bought into playing together and when other guys are doing well, they are cheering them on and taking genuine pride in their performance."

The victory moves the Nighthawks into a three-way tie for fourth place in the GNAC with Simon Fraser and Alaska.

NNU plays at 3 p.m. MST on Saturday at Concordia.