NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball led for most of regulation, but Westmont tied the game late and edged the Nighthawks in overtime, 84-82.
The Nighthawks suffer their first loss of the season and fall to 3-1 on the year.
After seven minutes of back-and-forth action, a 6-0 run put NNU up 14-8 at the 12:08 mark on a dunk from
Briggs Ranstrom.
The Nighthawks kept the pressure on the opening half, leading by as much as 13, 30-17, with 2:09 remaining in the period. Westmont finished the half strong, though, cutting the deficit to eight, 32-24, at the break.
NNU scored first to open the second half, but the Warriors then went on an 18-8 run over the next 10 minutes to tie the game at 42 at the 9:29 mark. An
Easton Reagan triple temporarily put the Nighthawks back on top, but Westmont would take their first lead since the early minutes of the game at 49-47 with 7:30 to play.
The Nighthawks kept battling, though, and the teams traded blow-for-blow over the rest of regulation with NNU clinging to a three-point lead, 63-60, with just 27 seconds to play. Westmont came up clutch with a triple to tie it, however, sending the game to overtime.
The Warriors opened the extra period on an 11-1 run, taking a 74-64 lead with 1:53 remaining. NNU was able to claw back and cut the deficit down to three, 81-78, on a
Sullivan Menard triple with seven seconds left, but NNU did not quite have enough time to complete the comeback and fell 84-82.
Kye Dickson led NNU with 17 points, followed by
Zane Foster with 15,
Yaru Harvey with 14, and Menard with 11. Foster narrowly missed a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds.
NNU will be back in action in less than 24 hours, hosting Jessup University on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
