NAMPA, Idaho - After trailing by six at halftime, Northwest Nazarene men's basketball opened the second half with a 26-7 run to pull away from Saint Martin's and held on for a 92-86 victory.
With the win, the No. 14/17 Nighthawks take their eighth-straight, including the exhibition victory, to improve to 9-1 on the season. SMU falls to 1-7 on the year.
After the Saints shot 53% (9-17) from deep in the opening half, NNU's defense locked down in the second period and held SMU to just 3-12 (25%) from beyond the arc. The Nighthawks won the rebounding battle 45-35, and held a significant advantage in second chance points at 20-7.
For the fifth time this season,
Ezekiel Alley tallied over 20 points as the senior led NNU with 26. He also registered five rebounds and four assists, going 5-9 from deep.
Jaylen Fox had his best offensive outing of the year, scoring 14 points on 4-6 shooting from three. In all, the Nighthawks drilled 15 triples, finishing at 41.7% (15-36).
Kobe Terashima was not too far away from a triple-double, recording 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Brandon Recek was the final Nighthawk in double figures with 10 points, while
Christian Rose led the team with seven boards.
NNU scored the first seven points of the game on a
Gabriel Murphy free throw and two triples from Alley. The Saints quickly tied things up at 12, though, and the teams stayed close for the rest of the opening half. SMU made a late run over the final two minutes to head into the break with a six-point lead, 49-43.
The Nighthawks came out of halftime with purpose, coming back to take the lead just two minutes in on a three from
George Reidy. NNU didn't slow down from there, eventually pulling out to a lead of 14, 70-56, on a pair of
Sam Roth free throws with 9:51 to play.
SMU would not go away quietly, though, putting together a late run to trail by just four with 1:30 to go. NNU took care of the ball and made their free throws, however, and came away with the 92-86 victory.
The Nighthawks and Saints will do battle again tomorrow afternoon, with opening tip set for 3:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
