NAMPA —The last time the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team made a national tournament, it marked the end of an era.

The program was in the process of eight consecutive NAIA Division II tournament berths and no one at the time could have imagined it would be 22 years before the team got back to the national stage.

"I probably had a little better feel because I was the head coach when we moved to (NCAA) Division II," said Rich Sanders, who coached NNC from 1996-97 to 2000-01 and then the athletic director for 10 years after that. "I don't know if I thought about how many years it would take. That first year I probably thought we'd never make it. It was a tough transition."

The Nighthawks (11-4) will play Point Loma (8-2) at 8:45 p.m. tonight in the first round of the NCAA Division II national tournament. It is the first nationals appearance at the NCAA level for the program.

The 1998-99 team was the last to go to a national tournament, capping an eight year run that was highlighted by a second-place finish in 1995 and three third-place finishes.

All of that success under Ed Weidenbach and Sanders helped with recruiting as well as creating a thriving fan base.

"I wanted to be on a really good team at a lower level rather than an average team at a higher level," said Cooprider, a high-scoring point guard. "I came on my recruiting visit and went to a national tournament game and it was awesome."

He followed a long line of eastern Washington players and coaches who helped lead the program to eight consecutive national tournaments.

The Schumacher brothers — Lane, Tony and Todd, the Garcia brothers — Roy and Rolando, the Herron brothers — Chad and Kelly, Kai Knell, Brent Darnell and Cooprider all hailed from eastern Washington.

"I remember the crowd, especially when the games were on campus," said Jeremy Stockett, a junior post on the 98-99 team. "It would get so loud in there. It was always a blast."

The pinnacle moment for the then-Crusaders was a heartbreaking overtime loss to Bethel University in the 1995 championship game.

Four years later, NNC again squared off against Bethel and this time it didn't look like a fair fight.

The Crusaders were just 12-21 on the season, but earned a spot at the tournament because they were the host. Bethel was No. 1 and 30-5 at the time.

"We didn't win our division or tournament or anything," said Kelly Herron, a guard on that team. "The cool thing about it was that we took the No. 1 ranked team to the brink and nearly beat them. That is something I will always remember."

As the program transitioned to the NCAA level the following year it did so with less than half the scholarships than many of the teams they would face.

"It was a big jump and it wasn't fully funded to start," Weidenbach said. "My experience is, when you have a full complement of scholarships as well as boosters and that kind of thing, it makes a difference. I know I benefited from that when I came in. We were able to compete with people because we could have just as good of players."

Weidenbach and Sanders have both been involved with the current program, working with head coach Paul Rush and just cheering them on from afar.

"I emailed him and congratulated him when I heard," Weidenbach said. "I told him with all of the changes … from a historical environment standpoint — he has done a great job. I know they are excited to have a chance to play."

And while fans haven't been allowed to go to games this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stockett has taken his kids to a handful of games over the years.

"They think it is the coolest thing ever that I played there and I don't think they believe it sometimes," he said.

No matter what happens tonight, these Nighthawks will always be able to say they played on the national stage joining a long list of alumni.