NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball got back on the right track on Thursday with a 72-62 victory over Alaska Fairbanks in their first game of the new year.
The Nighthawks improve to 5-8 on the year and 2-3 in GNAC play.
How It Happened
Gabriel Murphy got the Nighthawks on the board first with a dunk a minute into the game, and NNU scored six more quick points to take an 8-4 lead at the 17:35 mark.
The teams would battle back and forth over the rest of the first half, with NNU eventually taking a two-point lead, 32-30, into the break.
The Nanooks scored the first four points of the second half, but the Nighthawks would take control from there with an 11-2 run to go up by seven, 43-36, including a thunderous fast break jam from
Aaron Murphy.
NNU cruised to the finish from there, leading by as much as 16 after a triple from
Ryzin Bergersen with 2:56 to play en route to the 10-point victory.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks shot 54.7% from the field and 37.5% from deep in the win
- NNU outrebounded UAF 36-26 and outpaced the Nanooks 16-3 in second-chance points
- The Nighthawks dominated the paint with a 46-23 advantage
- Bergersen led the Nighthawks with 19 points, tying his career high, as he went 5-7 from deep and 6-9 from the field
- Gabe Murphy had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards
- Kobe Terashima added eight assists and six points
- Aaron Murphy had 12 points, five boards, and four steals
- Christian Rose was also in double figures with 10 points and had seven rebounds
Next Up
NNU remains home for another matchup with a team from Alaska on Saturday, hosting Anchorage at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game against Western Washington.
