NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball led from start to finish in a 64-58 victory over Northwest Missouri State to wrap up NNU's eight-game homestand to start the season.
With those eight games in the books, the Nighthawks are off to a 7-1 overall record and a 2-0 mark in GNAC action. The Bearcats, who were annual national title contenders just a few seasons ago with four crowns between 2017 and 2022, fall to 2-7 in a rough beginning to the year.
Back-to-back early triples from
Kye Dickson and
Briggs Ranstrom put NNU up 8-2 just three minutes into the contest.
The Nighthawks kept the momentum going, building their lead to as much as 12 right before halftime. An NWMSU three-pointer went down just before the break, though, sending the teams to the locker room with the score 33-24 in favor of NNU.
That made triple was the beginning of a 10-1 run by the Bearcats, as they scored seven of the first eight points in the second half to cut NNU's lead to three, 34-31. The Nighthawks were able to keep NWMSU at bay momentarily, but they eventually trimmed the deficit down to one, 45-44, with 9:26 to play.
Easton Reagan hit a big triple in NNU's next possession to push the margin back up to four, and NNU was able to pull away with a lot of late free throw shooting and lead by as much as nine before taking the six-point win.
NNU dominated on the boards with a 42-27 advantage, including 14-3 on the offensive glass. The Nighthawks also had a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points after those offensive boards.
Dickson led NNU with 15 points and added seven rebounds. Biggie Bergersen had 13 points and Reagan was also in double figures with 10.
Zane Foster nearly had a double-double, pulling down 13 rebounds but falling one point shy with nine.
The Nighthawks will hit the road for their first official, non-exhibition road games of the season next week, visiting Cal State Los Angeles on Tuesday, Dec. 17 and Biola on Friday, Dec. 20.
