BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball suffered a tough defeat on the road at Western Washington on Thursday night, falling to the Vikings in the final moments 83-81.
How It Happened
- In his second game back from injury, it was all James Nelson early as he scored 11 of the first 15 points for the Nighthawks, who trailed however 16-15 at the 13-minute mark of the opening half.
- NNU kept battling, though, and would take their first lead of the game, 22-20, on a deep triple by Jaylen Fox at the 10:53 mark.
- The lead swung back in the Vikings' direction, until back-to-back threes from Timothy TenKley and Fox put NNU back on top 37-36 with 3:25 remaining in the half.
- NNU and WWU traded buckets over most of the rest of the half until an acrobatic jumper from Nelson with 30 seconds left and a Tru Allen triple right before the buzzer gave the Nighthawks a five-point lead at the break, 50-45.
- Both teams shot well in the first half, with WWU at an even 50.0% and NNU at 48.6%. The Nighthawks made seven triples and the two teams combined to go a whopping 25-32 from the free throw line in the opening period alone.
- NNU struggled a bit to open the second half, but back-to-back Fox layups put NNU back in front 62-61 with 12:55 remaining.
- The lead exchanged hands a few more times before the under-eight timeout, which NNU went into with a five-point lead, 73-68, after four-straight points from Nelson.
- The Nighthawks would score out of the timeout to go up by seven, but the Vikings responded with a 9-0 run to go up by two with 3:50 to play.
- NNU didn't quit, taking the lead back with 45 seconds remaining on a banked-in triple from Nelson, making it 81-80 in favor of the visitors.
- Western Washington would pull it out in the end, however, making three free throws in the final 30 seconds to take the 83-81 win.
Nighthawks Notes
- NNU falls to 3-3 in GNAC play and 5-6 overall on the season.
- James Nelson set a new career-high in points with 25 on the night along with five rebounds.
- Tru Allen added 13 points, three assists, and three steals, while Jaylen Fox was the only other Nighthawk in double figures with 11.
- NNU shot 47.6% (10-21) from deep, a better percentage than they managed from the field in the game at 43.9% (25-57).
- The Nighthawks won the turnover battle, forcing 19 while committing 14. That led to a big difference in points off turnovers that favored NNU 33-17.
Next Up
The Nighthawks continue their road trip across the border on Saturday, making the drive up to Burnaby, B.C. to take on Simon Fraser at 7:00 p.m. Pacific. NNU will remain on the road next week, visiting Central Washington on Thursday.
