NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball made it a 3-0 homestand this week with a 73-66 victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday.
How It Happened
The visiting Nanooks got off to a hot start, taking a 12-5 lead six minutes in. NNU responded with an 8-0 run that included triples from
Julian Agosto and
Tru Allen to go up by one.
The teams would trade baskets over most of the rest of the first half, before NNU pulled ahead slightly to take a five-point lead, 35-30, on an Allen layup seconds before the buzzer.
NNU's offense went quiet to open the second half, only scoring two points in the first five minutes as UAF went on a 10-2 run to take a three-point lead.
The Nanooks would eventually build that lead to six with 8:27 to go, but NNU quickly tied the game with a 6-0 run.
Still tied at 60 with four minutes to play, NNU was finally able to take control as
Gabriel Murphy had a big dunk and putback followed by a triple from
James Nelson that put NNU up eight, 69-61, with 49 seconds remaining.
Free throws sealed the win from there, as Allen made all four that he took to give NNU the 73-66 win.
Nighthawks Notes
- With their third-straight win, NNU is now 6-4 in GNAC play and goes above the .500 mark on the season with an 8-7 overall record.
- In a span of five days, the Nighthawks have catapulted from eighth in the conference standings to third, trailing just Central Washington and Saint Martin's who are tied for first at 8-5.
- Tru Allen led the Nighthawks with a career-high tying 19 points and added four rebounds and three assists.
- James Nelson just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine boards, while Gabriel Murphy added 12 points and eight rebounds.
- George Reidy also had seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- NNU turned the ball over just nine times.
- The Nighthawks have now won six straight games over the Nanooks as they even the all-time series at 20 wins apiece.
Next Up
The Nighthawks head out on the road next week, visiting Saint Martin's on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.
