NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene men's basketball held off a tough Azusa Pacific squad 67-60 on Friday night in their first game of the NNU Thanksgiving Classic.
 
The Nighthawks improve to 2-2 on the season, including 2-0 at home in the Johnson Sports Center.
 
The Nighthawks and Cougars went back-and-forth to start, with NNU taking an 11-6 lead after five minutes but APU rallying to go up 20-15 with 11:05 to play in the opening half.
 
The Cougars led by as much as seven, 26-19, in the first period, but the Nighthawks responded with a 9-0 run to take a 28-26 lead on a Rayzhon Bergersen layup with 5:13 remaining. NNU would later get four points in the final seven seconds of the half, with Aaron Murphy scoring and then Tru Allen stealing the inbounds and converting a layup right before the buzzer to send the Nighthawks to the break up 35-30.
 
NNU built the lead out to seven two minutes into the second half, but the Cougars rallied to take a 46-45 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. The visitors grew their lead to five with seven minutes left, but layups from Jaylen Fox and Gabriel Murphy and a Ryzin Bergersen triple tied the game at 54 with 3:32 remaining.
 
Tied at 60 with 1:32 to go, the Nighthawks scored the final seven points, with Fox hitting a runner in the lane and Allen and Gabe Murphy combining for five free throws to seal the victory.
 
Turnovers were key to NNU's victory, as they forced 19 by the Cougars and only committed 10, leading to a 22-10 advantage in points off turnovers. The Nighthawks also scored 42 of their 67 points in the paint.
 
Gabe Murphy led the way for NNU with a near double-double of 16 points and seven rebounds. Allen tallied 14 points, four assists, and six steals in a well-rounded effort, while Biggie Bergersen notched 12 points including 3-5 from deep.
 
NNU will play again in less than 24 hours to cap off the NNU Thanksgiving Classic, hosting Point Loma Nazarene at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
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