NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball completed the season sweep of longtime rival College of Idaho on Tuesday night, defeating the Yotes 71-64 on the Nighthawks' home court.
How It Happened
- College of Idaho got off to a hot start, hitting their first four triples to take a 12-4 lead at the 16:24 mark.
- The Nighthawks clawed back before halftime, though, tying things up at 23 on a Gabriel Murphy putback with 6:48 to play in the first.
- NNU scored the next five points in a row, but C of I rallied at the end of the half to take a one-point lead, 32-31, into the locker room.
- The Nighthawks would take leads of four or five for much of the second half, but the Yotes seemed to always find a way to draw back even, culminating with Ricardo Time's fifth triple of the game that tied the score at 60 with 3:53 remaining.
- NNU scored the next five points, though, on three free throws and a layup from Murphy to go up 65-60 with 1:37 to play.
- Forced to foul, the Yotes were unable to come back once more as the Nighthawks made their free throws to take the seven-point win, 71-64.
Nighthawks Notes
- With the win, the Nighthawks sweep the Mayors' Cup series against the Yotes for the first time since 2012. NNU also improves to 57-45 in series games played in Nampa.
- NNU moves to 3-4 on the season. The game goes down as an exhibition for C of I, who remain at 8-3 on the year.
- George Reidy had a game-high 19 points, going 7-9 from the free throw line and also notching four assists and a block.
- Gabriel Murphy tallied his fifth double-double of the season in seven games, scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 boards while also recording three blocks.
- Julian Agosto notched 11 points, a career-high for the true freshman in his seventh collegiate game.
- Tru Allen added a career-best five assists.
- The Nighthawks shot 42.1% from deep, their best mark from beyond the arc of the season.
- NNU also committed just eight turnovers, a season-low, and tallied 19 second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds.
Next Up
The Nighthawks now have 11 days before their next game, which will come against Western New Mexico at home on Dec. 18. The Nighthawks will then turn around and battle the same Mustangs two days later before the holiday break.
