NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball earned their first GNAC victory of the season on Saturday night with a 62-54 win over Western Oregon.
The Nighthawks improve to 3-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
How It Happened
It was the
Gabriel Murphy show for the first 14 minutes of the game, as the big man scored 15 of NNU's 19 points to give the Nighthawks a 19-13 lead at the 6:09 mark.
After
Kobe Terashima opened the NNU scoring with a runner to beat the shot clock, Murphy scored the next 10 points by himself, including a pair of dunks.
The Nighthawks would lead by as much as 12 in the first half, with a
Yaru Harvey triple making it 30-18 with 3:38 to go in the period. WOU cut into the lead a bit, but Terashima converted a layup in the final minute to take the lead back to eight, 34-26, at halftime.
The Wolves came out of halftime with the hot hand, though, scoring nine of the first 11 points to take their first lead since the opening moments of the game at 37-36 at the 16:15 mark.
WOU's run stopped right there, however, as NNU turned the tables for a 20-4 run of their own over the next eight minutes of action. The stretch was punctuated by another monster jam from Murphy that made it 56-40 with 8:36 to play.
The Wolves didn't go away quietly, making a little noise over the final three minutes but the Nighthawks ultimately held on for the eight-point win.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks outrebounded the Wolves 47-37, including 16 on the offensive end
- NNU led for 95.5% of the game, with the largest lead of 16 coming at the 8:36 mark of the second half, 56-40
- The Nighthawks dominated the paint with 38 points to WOU's 18 from inside the key
- Gabriel Murphy had his best game of the season, notching a new career-high with 21 points and coming one shy of his career best with 14 rebounds for a huge double-double
- Seventeen of Murphy's 21 points came in the first half, as he already had his double-double notched with 10 boards at the break as well
- Three other Nighthawks were in double figures as Tru Allen, Kobe Terashima, and Yaru Harvey all finished with 11 points
- Terashima also had four assists
- Andrew Ferrin made his presence felt in the lane with six boards and three steals
- NNU wins their fifth-straight game against Western Oregon, improving to 23-18 all-time against the Wolves
Next Up
The Nighthawks will have a quick turnaround before it will be time for round two of the Mayors' Cup, as NNU is heading to Caldwell in just three days on Tuesday to face College of Idaho at 7:07 p.m.
NNU will be back home at the end of next week, hosting George Fox in a non-conference matchup on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
