PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second consecutive game, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team played stifling second-half defense.

And for the second consecutive game it led to a road victory.

The Nighthawks defeated Concordia 75-60 on Saturday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"Coming out in the second half we had a really concerted effort on the defensive end and strung together a bunch of stops," NNU coach Paul Rush said. "Getting some stops on the defensive end allowed us to get into transition and score some points. We were able to get in the paint and score at the rim, which opened up some easier shots from the 3-point line."

The win was the fifth in a row for the Nighthawks (9-6 overall, 6-4 GNAC), which started 1-4 in conference play and are now tied for third with Alaska Anchorage.

"Road sweeps in the GNAC are a big deal," Rush said of winning Thursday at Western Oregon and Saturday. "We are at a point now where we are tied for third and we are going to need another couple of road wins to be able to get in the playoffs."

NNU trailed 40-36 with 18 minutes left in the game before going on a 12-0 run to take a commanding 48-40 lead.

Ezekiel Alley started it with a pair of layups, Jaylen Fox and Olamilekan Adetunji hit 3-pointers, and Sam Roth capped it with a layup.

The Cavaliers (2-16, 1-9) eventually cut the deficit to 55-48 with 8:10 remaining, but an 11-4 spurt by the Nighthawks put the game away.

Alley started this run with a 3-pointer and a breakaway layup, Jayden Bezzant hit a jumper, Alley had a jumper and Roth another layup for a 66-52 lead.

The win came against a Concordia team coached by former NNU assistant Rodrick Rhodes.

"Rod is doing a good job with them," Rush said. "They had a good game plan and they were ready for us."

Fox kept the Nighthawks in the game offensively in the first half, scoring nine points and hitting two 3-pointers.

"He's definitely somebody that when teams zone us, he shoots it so well he puts a lot of pressure on them to find him," Rush said. "He has a big impact for us when we are getting zoned."

Alley had 15 of his 17 points in the second half, while Bezzant had 12 of his 14 after the break.

Alley added four rebounds and four assists, while Bezzant also had four assists. Fox finished with 15 points, Adetunji had six points and 11 rebounds and Gabriel Murphy had four points and five rebounds.

The Nighthawks return home for a tough weekend, hosting Western Washington at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.