NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball had their way with Seattle Pacific on Thursday, routing the Falcons 90-57.
How It Happened
After a slow first few minutes, the Nighthawks started to pull away early, going up 20-9 on a layup from
Gabriel Murphy at the 11:28 mark. The lead would extend to 17, 34-17, on a
Tru Allen layup with five minutes to go before the half.
NNU kept the pressure on, going into the break up 18, 41-23.
The second half was much of the same, as NNU quickly went on a 9-2 run to open the half and take a 25-point lead just two minutes into the period.
The lead would grow to 30 with 5:32 to play, as
Andrew Ferrin flew in for a putback just minutes after sending home two big dunks to make it 79-49.
The Nighthawks would build the lead to as much as 35 before it was all said and done, and eventually took the 33-point win, 90-57.
Nighthawks Notes
- NNU improves to 11-8 on the year and 9-5 in GNAC play with their sixth win in the last seven games.
- The Nighthawks snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Falcons, and the 33-point win is the largest margin of victory for NNU over SPU since the Nighthawks joined Division II.
- With the win, NNU moves up to second in the GNAC standings, with an outside shot at passing Saint Martin's for the regular season title in the Points Rating System if the Saints drop one of their final two games.
- Four Nighthawks were in double figures, led by 17 from Tru Allen.
- James Nelson and Gabe Murphy both had 16 points and six rebounds, with Nelson also notching two blocks.
- George Reidy just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
- Christian Rose added 12 boards and Kobe Terashima had seven assists.
- NNU shot 54.7% from the floor in the game, compared to just 30.4% for SPU.
- The Nighthawks outrebounded the Falcons by an incredible 48-28 margin, and dished out 16 assists to just six for SPU.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will wrap up the regular season with their final home game on Saturday, hosting Montana State Billings at 7:30 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center. The GNAC Tournament will be next week from March 2-5, dually hosted by Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific. All 10 teams are invited this year, and NNU will find out their seeding and opening game location following the games this Saturday night.
