NNU Prepares for Rematch with No. 4 PLNU at NCAA Regionals

3/7/2023 6:00:00 PM | By: Josh Burkholder - Assistant AD, Communications

SAN DIEGO – Fresh off their stunning run through the GNAC Championships to claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional, Northwest Nazarene men's basketball is preparing to take on No. 4 Point Loma in the opening round on Friday night.

The eighth-seeded Nighthawks (15-14, 9-9 GNAC) will take on the host and top seeded Sea Lions (27-3, 20-0 PacWest) at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on Friday at PLNU's Golden Gymnasium.

The other matchups in the opening round on Friday in the West Regional are three-seed Azusa Pacific (22-7, 16-4 PacWest) against six-seed Cal State San Marcos (19-10, 17-5 CCAA) at noon, two-seed and CCAA Champion Cal State San Bernardino (27-3, 20-2 CCAA) against seven-seed Montana State Billings (20-9, 14-4 GNAC) at 2:30 p.m., and four-seed Saint Martin's (24-6, 15-3 GNAC) against five-seed Academy of Art (21-9, 14-6 PacWest) at 7:30 p.m.

If the Nighthawks are to defeat the Sea Lions, NNU will then take on the winner of Saint Martin's and Academy of Art in the semifinals on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Pacific. The championship game is scheduled for Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.

Media and Ticket Info
Live video will be available free of charge on Point Loma's video streaming portal. Live stats are housed on PLNU's Sidearm Stats page. There is also a Tournament Central page with all the info and links you will need ahead of the regional.

Tickets are on sale for each day and available at this link. Pricing structure is $12 for adults, $5 for seniors (62 and over), $5 for college students with a valid student ID, $5 for youth aged 5-12, and free for children under 5. Tickets are on a day-by-day basis, so one ticket purchase is valid for all games that take place for the day it is purchased.

NCAA Tournament History
The Nighthawks will be making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. NNU earned an at-large bid in the COVID-shortened 2021 season two years ago, entering as the five-seed. They opened with the same opponent as this year in Point Loma, and went on to defeat the four-seed Sea Lions as well as top seed, national No. 1 Colorado Mesa to reach the Sweet 16 before falling to two-seed Colorado Mines. As a result, NNU enters the tournament 2-1 in their NCAA Tournament history.

How They Got Here
NNU would not be traveling to San Diego had they not claimed the conference title and resulting automatic bid, as they entered the GNAC Championships as the sixth and lowest seed and were undisputedly on the outside looking in of the NCAA postseason.

However, NNU took down the top three seeds in the GNAC tourney in order, defeating three-seed Seattle Pacific on Thursday, 2-seed Montana State Billings on Friday, and 1-seed Saint Martin's on Saturday. The Nighthawks outscored their three opponents 201-169, holding them to an average of just 56 points that was highlighted by a 38-point stifling of MSUB.

Team Notes

NNU was selected second in the GNAC preseason poll but after struggling through the opening part of conference play with a couple of injuries, a late run was enough to qualify for the GNAC tournament as the sixth and final seed
The Nighthawks actually finished in a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings at 9-9, but lost tiebreakers to the other two teams to fall to the six-seed
Despite their overall record just reaching over .500 after winning the conference title, the Nighthawks are one of the hottest teams in the region with an 8-3 record in their last 11 games dating back to Jan. 28
During that stretch, NNU held opponents below 70 points eight times
Overall this year, the Nighthawks have held opponents under 70 points 19 times, under 60 points nine times, under 55 points six times, and under 50 points twice including allowing MSUB to score just 38 points in the GNAC semifinal win on March 3^rd
NNU ranks first in the GNAC and is 22^nd in the nation in scoring defense at 65.4 points allowed per game
The Nighthawks are 30^th nationally in turnovers forced per game at 15.86 and 45^th in steals per game at 8.1, marks that are both second in the GNAC
NNU is first in the GNAC and 26^th in Division II in offensive rebounds per game at 12.72
NNU will be taking on PLNU for the sixth time in the Nighthawks' Division II history, with each teams notching three wins in the series
NNU is 2-2 in the games played in San Diego
The Nighthawks and Sea Lions have played three times in the last three seasons, with Point Loma winning 87-57 in San Diego on Jan. 15, 2021, NNU winning the aforementioned NCAA Regional matchup 85-73 in Golden, Colorado on March 12, 2021, and PLNU taking the most recent contest 69-54 in San Diego from earlier this season on Nov. 15

Player Notes

The Nighthawks had two selections to All-GNAC teams with forward Gabriel Murphy on the Second Team and guard Tru Allen on the Honorable Mention squad
Murphy led the GNAC and is 55^th nationally with 8.3 rebounds per game while ranking 15^th in Division II in offensive rebounds per game at 3.33
Murphy is also second on the team and tied for 16^th in the GNAC with 11.5 points per game and leads the team and ranks eighth in the conference with a 54.8 field goal percentage
Murphy holds the team's best single-game scoring mark of the year with a 24-point effort against Western Washington on Feb. 16 as well as the team's highest rebounding mark of 14 against Western Oregon on Dec. 3
Allen is second in the GNAC and 57^th nationally with 1.8 steals per game while leading the team and ranking 12^th in the GNAC at 12.1 points per game
Kobe Terashima is 58^th in the nation and fourth in the conference with 118 assists, and reached the 500-career assist mark in the GNAC title game against Saint Martin's
Terashima is also sixth in the GNAC with 1.4 steals per game
Ryzin Bergersen comes into the regional averaging 11 points per game, with his biggest strength coming from behind the arc as he ranks 14^th across Division II with a three-point percentage of 44.8 (64-143)
Bergersen's prowess from deep was on full display at the GNAC Championships, as he went 12-16 (75%) from beyond the arc in the three games, including an incredible 6-7 performance in the title game, with his efforts earning the Boise native the GNAC Championships MVP honor
Yaru Harvey is fourth on the team with 7.2 points per game and Terashima fifth with 6.8 points per game
Christian Rose and Aaron Murphy are second and third on the team in rebounding, with Rose at 5.0 per game and Murphy at 4.8 per contest
NNU plays a relatively deep rotation, with 11 of 12 active players averaging at least nine minutes per game and six Nighthawks at over 20 minutes per game, led by Allen's 30.5 minutes per contest

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