SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Northwest Nazarene men's basketball took care of a pesky Westmont College on the road Tuesday night, pulling away late for an 82-67 victory over the Warriors.
 
With the win, the Nighthawks head into the winter break at 5-4 overall on the season and remain 2-0 in GNAC play.
 
NNU came out strong with Gabriel Murphy scoring eight of the Nighthawks' first 12 points as NNU took a 12-6 lead after four minutes.
 
The lead would extend to seven, 21-14, on an Easton Reagan bucket at the 11:24 mark, and then up to nine, 30-21, on a Tru Allen jumper with just over six minutes to play in the half.

Westmont would battle back, cutting the NNU lead to one at 34-33, but the Nighthawks were able to stem the tide and go back up by three, 38-35, at halftime.
 
The Warriors would temporarily grab the lead early in the second half, going up 45-44 after four minutes. However, a Jaylen Fox triple moments later would prove to put NNU back in front for good.
 
The Nighthawks led by about four for the next eight minutes before going on a big run to close the game. Ahead 64-60 with 7:43 remaining, NNU finished the contest on an 18-8 run.
 
The lead hit double digits with just under four minutes to go on a Ryzin Bergersen three that made it 75-65. He would drill another one two minutes later to build the advantage to its biggest of the night of 15, 80-65, as the Nighthawks cruised to the 82-67 victory.
 
NNU was relentless on the boards, outrebounding Westmont 42-25 and 16-8 offensively. The Nighthawks also had 20 assists to the Warriors' 12. NNU also had an enormous advantage at the free throw line, shooting 85% to Westmont's paltry 41%.
 
Gabe Murphy led the Nighthawks with 24 points and seven rebounds, followed by brother Aaron Murphy with 16 points and seven boards. Tru Allen added 12 points and Biggie Bergersen tallied 11.
 
Of note, with his seven rebounds Gabe Murphy tied the NNU NCAA DII career mark for rebounds with 632, equaling Kevin Rima's total set in 2015.
 
NNU will now go home for the holidays before returning to campus at the end of December, hosting Douglas College on Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
  Read Full Article