SEATTLE – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball took preseason GNAC No. 1 Seattle Pacific to overtime on the road on Saturday, but the Nighthawks fell 68-67 in the final seconds.
How It Happened
- SPU got off to a hot start in their gym, going up by as many as 11, 24-13, at the 11:13 mark of the opening half.
- NNU was able to make up some ground before halftime, though, as a George Reidy layup cut the deficit to five, 35-30, at the break.
- The Nighthawks finally drew even at 43 apiece at the 12:58 mark of the second period, and took their first lead since the opening moments of the contest a minute later when Reidy drilled a step-back three.
- From there, the Nighthawks and Falcons battled as close as could be, with neither team taking a lead of more than three over the rest of regulation. In the second half alone, the lead changed hands 14 times.
- With NNU leading late, SPU star Divant'e Moffitt evened things up at 61 on a floater with 70 seconds to play. Both teams had chances after that, but the game would go to overtime after Reidy's jumper at the buzzer fell short.
- The Falcons went up by five early in the extra period, but NNU scrapped their way back to a one-point deficit, 68-67, on an and-one from Christian Rose with 1:41 to play.
- Defenses prevailed from there, as neither team was able to score over the final 100 seconds, ending with a Tru Allen miss in the final moments.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks fall to 1-1 in GNAC play in the early going and 2-4 overall.
- NNU has now gone to overtime in three of their six games this season, with tonight coming as their first such loss after defeating Bushnell and Montana State Billings.
- Four Nighthawks were in double figures, led by 13 points and nine rebounds from Christian Rose.
- Gabriel Murphy saw his four-game double-double streak snapped, but just barely as he recorded 11 points and eight boards along with two blocks.
- George Reidy added 12 points and four rebounds, while Timothy TenKley tallied 11 points on 3-4 shooting from deep.
- Kobe Terashima also notched six assists and seven rebounds and finished with nine points, six boards, and two steals.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will return home for just their second game of the season in the Johnson Sports Center next Tuesday, hosting longtime rival College of Idaho for the second round of the Mayors' Cup at 7:00 p.m. NNU will look to make it a season sweep against the Yotes after winning 80-70 in Caldwell on Nov. 17.
