NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene men's basketball took care of business in their home opener on Saturday night, defeating Walla Walla University 83-68 to kick off the 2023 campaign.
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With the season-opening victory in front of a capacity crowd for Homecoming, the Nighthawks improve to 1-0 on the year.
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NNU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead at the 15:20 mark after a dunk and hook shot went down from
Gabriel Murphy. The lead would grow to 18-4 four minutes later after an
Aaron Murphy put-back layup.
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The Nighthawks would soar to a 31-13 advantage, their largest of the first half at 21, with 6:12 to play in the opening stanza. A late three-pointer from
Jaylen Fox and free throw from
Ryzin Bergersen sent NNU into the break up by 19 at 46-27.
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NNU shot very well in the opening half, going 47.1% from the floor and an impressive 54.5% from deep, including a trio of triples from
Nathan Perez.
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Walla Walla would not go away quietly in the second half, cutting the NNU lead to just 10 at 66-56 with 7:31 to play.
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NNU quickly took back control of the game, however, not letting the lead dip below double-digits and building it back up to 20, 83-63, on a pair of free throws from Bergersen with 2:37 to play.
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The Nighthawks were able to cruise to victory from there, taking the 83-68 win.
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NNU's scoring was very balanced, with seven players scoring between eight and 14 points.
Ryzin Bergersen led the way with 14, followed by
Aaron Murphy at 13 and
Tru Allen at 11. Â
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Aaron Murphy had a double-double with 11 rebounds go to with his 13 points, while brother Gabe Murphy just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.
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Allen added five assists and four steals to aid the Nighthawks' effort.
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NNU had the rebounding edge at 38 to 31 while also causing 19 Wolves turnovers. The Nighthawks led from start to finish.
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NNU will now travel to Ellensburg, Washington for a pair of neutral-site games next weekend, facing Westminster on Friday and Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday.
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