LACEY, Wash. - After building a big halftime lead at Saint Martin's, Northwest Nazarene men's basketball held off the Saints late to come away with a 90-80 victory.

The win is NNU's fifth in a row, and propels the Nighthawks to a 7-1 record. 

NNU shot the ball well throughout the game, converting 54.4% from the field and 47.6% (10-21) from deep. The Nighthawks also went 18-22 (81.8%) from the free throw line and overpowered the Saints on the boards, 42-26. 

Six Nighthawks scored in double figures, led by George Reidy with a season-high 23 points and eight rebounds. Ezekiel Alley tallied 14 points and four assists, while Gabriel Murphy and Brandon Recek each finished with 11 points. Recek also went 3-4 from beyond the arc.

James Nelson and Kobe Terashima rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points apiece, and both Nighthawks just narrowly missed double-doubles, as Nelson finished with nine rebounds and Terashima dished out eight assists.

After a lot of back-and-forth play to open the contest, NNU held a 27-25 advantage with 4:13 to play in the opening half. The Nighthawks finished the period on a 21-5 run, however, flying out to an 18-point lead at halftime. NNU went a perfect 8-8 over those four minutes, hitting four triples including a buzzer-beater by Reidy.

Saint Martin's came out of halftime firing, though, coming all the way back to knot the score at 54 with 10:22 to play. The Saints briefly took the lead moments later, but a 10-1 NNU run between the nine and six minute marks put the Nighthawks back in front by six, 66-60. 

No stranger to close games down the stretch this season, the Nighthawks buckled down and held that lead for the rest of the game, with free throws in the final two minutes pushing the final advantage into double digits, 90-80.

The Nighthawks and Saints will battle again tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. PT.