NAMPA, Idaho – After a huge 3-0 week at home, Northwest Nazarene men's basketball hits the road this week for their final road trip, visiting Saint Martin's on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.
Game Information
NNU (8-7, 6-4 GNAC) at Saint Martin's (15-7, 8-5 GNAC)
Thursday, Feb. 17 | 7:30 PM PT | Lacey, Wash. | Marcus Pavilion
Live Video | Live Stats
NNU (8-7, 6-4 GNAC) at Western Oregon (5-15, 4-8 GNAC)
Saturday, Feb. 19 | 4:15 PM PT | Monmouth, Ore. | New PE Building
Live Video | Live Stats
Nighthawks Notes
- NNU earned GNAC Team of the Week honors after winning all three games they played last week. The first two wins over Saint Martin's and Alaska Anchorage both came while the visitor was on top of the GNAC standings, and the Nighthawks followed up those two upsets with a defeat of a scrappy Alaska Fairbanks side on Saturday.
- With the victories, the Nighthawks moved up from eighth to fourth in the GNAC standings at 6-4. They fared even better in the GNAC Points Rating System, which will be used this year to determine postseason seeding, improving from sixth all the way to second. All 10 teams will be invited to the conference tournament, with seeds 7-10 having to play a play-in first round to fill the eight-team bracket, so finishing sixth or better would earn a first-round bye.
- Five of NNU's seven losses this year have been by single digits.
- Gabriel Murphy is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.0 points and 9.4 rebounds a game, recording at least 10 of each in eight of his 13 contests. His rebounding mark leads the GNAC, while he is also fourth with 1.2 blocks per game. He also ranks in the top 50 nationally in two categories, topped by his 3.4 offensive rebounds per game that is 12th in the country.
- Kobe Terashima is fifth in the conference with 4.1 assists per game, dishing out four or more in seven of his 14 games, including a season-high 10 in a double-double effort against Bushnell. He is also third on the team with 4.6 rebounds per game.
- He has only played seven games, but James Nelson is leading the team with 17.6 points per game and 8.6 boards per game, shooting 46% from the field and 35.5% from deep.
- Reidy is second on the team with 14.2 points per game while recording 4.5 rebounds per game. Tru Allen is also in double figures with 12.5 points per game and second in the GNAC with 1.9 steals per game.
- As a team, the Nighthawks are third in the GNAC with a 42.1 field goal percentage defense, first in rebounding at 38.9 boards per game, third with 3.4 blocks per game, first with 7.5 steals per game, and first with 12.5 offensive rebounds per game.
Series History
- Against Saint Martin's, NNU is 22-21 since joining Division II in 2001. The Nighthawks are 9-12 in the games played in Lacey. NNU has won the last five meetings, but the Saints won the previous five. In the most recent meeting just a week ago on Feb. 8, SMU shot 53.5% from the field but NNU won the turnover battle 22-13 to take a hard-fought 71-65 win.
- Against Western Oregon, NNU is 21-18 since joining Division II in 2001. The Nighthawks are 7-12 in the games played in Monmouth. Overall, NNU has won the last three matchups, with WOU taking three of four prior to that. In the most recent meeting earlier this season on Jan. 20, the Nighthawks were firing on all cylinders as they led by 26 at halftime and cruised to a 95-59 victory.
Scouting the Saints
- Saint Martin's enters the weekend tied for first in the GNAC standings and third in the Points Rating system, coming into the week 15-7 overall and 8-5 in GNAC play.
- After winning 10 of 11 games from Dec. 4 to Feb. 1, the Saints have now gone just 1-3 in their last four contests.
- Brett Reed leads the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game, one of three players averaging double figures. He is also fifth in the GNAC in rebounding at 8.4 per game and fourth with a 57.9 field goal percentage.
- Alex Schumacher is next on the team with 13.8 points per game, is seventh in the GNAC with 1.5 steals per game and ninth with 3.6 assists per game.
- Kyle Greeley rounds out the double figure scorers with 13.4 points per game and is the only Saint to have played and started in all 22 contests.
- Jade Nielsen-Skinner leads the GNAC with 5.6 assists per game, while adding 8.3 points per game.
- The Saints have three players in the top six in the GNAC in three-point percentage, with Champ Spencer second at 45.1%, Schumacher third at 44.9%, and Tyke Thompson sixth at 43.8%.
- As a team, the Saints are third in the conference with 79.6 points per game, second with 68.0 points allowed per game, third with a 49.3 field goal percentage, first with a 42.1 three-point percentage, second with 16.2 assists per game, and third with 7.2 steals per game.
Scouting the Wolves
- Western Oregon is next-to-last in the GNAC standings at 4-8 and 5-15 overall.
- The Wolves snapped a nine-game losing streak last week with wins at Western Washington and Simon Fraser.
- Cameron Cranston is one of the more proficient scorers in the conference, tying for second with 19.1 points per game and ranking seventh with a 43.7 three-point percentage, while adding 1.6 steals per game that is tied for fifth. He also leads the conference in minutes played with 37.3 per game.
- John Morrill-Keeler is eighth in the conference with 6.3 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team with 10.8 points per game.
- As a team, the Wolves are fourth in the GNAC with a 75.7 free throw percentage, third with 9.0 made threes per game, and fifth in both assists and steals with 13.7 and 6.8, respectively.
