ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball overcame a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes to stun Central Washington 61-60 on Saturday night.
With the win, the Nighthawks improve to 11-11 on the year and are now 8-6 in GNAC play with four games remaining in the regular season.
How It Happened
NNU got off to a hot start, going on a 10-0 midway through the first half to take a 23-12 lead on a
Tru Allen triple at the 9:21 mark.
The Wildcats took control of the rest of the half, however, taking the lead late and going into the break up five, 34-29.
Central extended their lead to double digits with 10:29 to go in the game, going up 44-33. Six minutes later, the CWU lead was 12, 57-45, with 3:44 to play.
A pair of free throws from Allen cut the deficit to 10, a layup and steal/fastbreak dunk combo from
Aaron Murphy, and a bucket from
Gabriel Murphy brought the Nighthawks within four, 57-53, with 1:35 remaining.
The Wildcats hit a three on their next possession to stop the NNU scoring run at eight, but
Ryzin Bergersen answered with back-to-back triples to cut the deficit all the way down to one, 60-59, with 23 seconds left.
NNU then fouled to send Central to the line for a one-and-one opportunity, and the front end was missed and rebounded by Allen to give NNU the ball and a chance to take their first lead since midway through the first half. Allen was then the hero on the other end, driving down the right side of the lane and hitting a tough floater with a hand in his face to put NNU on top.
The Nighthawks' defense would hold over the final 10 seconds as NNU came away with the incredible come-from-behind victory.
Nighthawks Notes
- With the win, the Nighthawks keep hold of fourth in the GNAC standings at 8-6, a half-game up on Western Oregon (8-7) and just half a game back of Seattle Pacific (9-6) for third
- NNU outrebounded CWU 42-34, including 15-9 on the offensive end
- Tru Allen led all scorers with 19 points, going 2-4 from deep and 5-5 from the free throw line, to go along with five rebounds and three assists
- Biggie Bergersen had eight points, with six of the eight coming on the crucial triples in the final moments
- Gabe Murphy added seven points and eight rebounds
Next Up
NNU will have their last two home games of the regular season next week, hosting Western Washington on Thursday night and Simon Fraser on Saturday night.
