NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball took down rival College of Idaho in overtime, 69-66, in a sensational edition of the United Heritage Mayors' Cup on Tuesday night.
The Nighthawks snapped a four-game skid at the hands of the cross-county rivals in a contest that had 15 lead changes and neither team holding a lead of more than six points.
NNU improves to 2-0 on the young season with the win.
College of Idaho got the scoring going with a bucket 40 seconds in, but
Ryzin Bergersen (Biggie) answered back to even the score at two. Neither team took a lead of more than two until a
Rayzhon Bergersen layup made it 11-8 Nighthawks at the 14:54 mark.
The teams kept trading blows before a Biggie Bergersen triple put NNU up four, 26-22, with 5:22 remaining in the first half. The Yotes brought it back to a one-point lead, but a
Yaru Harvey to
Zane Foster alley-oop put the Nighthawks up 28-25 going into the break.
The game stayed neck-and-neck for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but College of Idaho reversed the Nighthawk advantage to go up 41-38 with 10:06 to play.
The Yotes extended their lead to five two minutes later, but NNU rallied back to tie the game at 48-48 on a
Kye Dickson and-one with 5:16 remaining. Dickson then gave the Nighthawks a one-point lead on the next possession with a free throw, and followed that by hammering down a two-handed slam at the 3:48 mark to put NNU up 51-48.
A minute later,
Sullivan Menard punctuated a 9-0 Nighthawks run with a deep triple that gave NNU a 54-48 advantage and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Yotes did not go away, though, cutting the deficit to two after a pair of Samaje Morgan free throws at the 1:42 mark. Biggie Bergersen put NNU back up four with a pair of free throws, but C of I cut it back down to one on a triple from Johnny Radford with 21 seconds to play in regulation. Bergersen then went 1-2 from the line on the next possession, and C of I then scored with five seconds left to send the game to overtime tied at 57.
The teams traded buckets for the first three minutes of the extra period, still tied at 62 after the two-minute mark. Biggie Bergersen then stepped up and drilled a deep triple to put NNU up 65-62 with 1:18 remaining.
Once again, the Yotes clawed back and took a 66-65 lead with 22 seconds to play after four straight free throws from Radford. The Nighthawks bounced back to take back the lead, though, with Menard getting to the line and draining a pair of free throws with 15 seconds remaining.
NNU then forced a Yote turnover, and Dickson calmly stepped up and sank two free throws to bring the lead to 69-65. The Yotes' last-second triple was off the mark, and the Nighthawks came away with the thrilling victory.
In his final battle with College of Idaho in the Johnson Sports Center, senior Biggie Bergersen scored a game-high 24 points, including going 5-9 from deep, and added seven rebounds.
Kye Dickson had momentum-shifting plays all night, finishing with 17 points, nine boards, and three steals.
Sullivan Menard added 11 points with three made triples, while
Yaru Harvey nearly had a double-double with eight points and eight assists.
The Nighthawks will look to make it three wins in a row to start the season when they are back home this Friday, Nov. 15, hosting Northern State at 7:00 p.m.
