LOS ANGELES – In their first counting road contest of the season, Northwest Nazarene men's basketball did not miss a beat on Tuesday night as they continued their fantastic start with a 76-66 victory at Cal State Angeles.
With the win, the Nighthawks improve to 8-1 on the year and remain 2-0 in GNAC play.
After CSULA opened the game with five unanswered points,
Sullivan Menard flipped it in NNU's favor with threes on back-to-back possessions to take the lead after two minutes of action.
The lead changed hands a few times over the next six minutes, with the Golden Eagles taking a 17-15 lead at the 11:57 mark. The Nighthawks then broke through for an 11-1 run that was capped by a Menard steal and
Yaru Harvey dunk to make it 26-18 with 6:41 remaining in the half.
Just a couple of minutes later, NNU bettered that stretch with a 13-0 run right before halftime.
Kye Dickson and
Nathan Perez combined for all 13 points, with Dickson notching seven and Perez drilling two triples for six. After the strong final 12 minutes of the opening period, NNU took a comfortable 43-25 lead into the break.
The Nighthawks rode that momentum in the second half, still holding an 18-point advantage with 7:02 to play at 70-52.
The Golden Eagles were able to make a few shots down the stretch, but NNU's lead proved to be out of reach as the Nighthawks came away with the 10-point win.
NNU felt right at home in the road gym, shooting 54.2% from the field and an impressive 50% (14-28) from beyond the arc. The Nighthawks dominated the boards with a 34-21 rebounding margin and held a 22-10 advantage in assists.
Kye Dickson stuffed the stat sheet, scoring a season-high 28 points on 61.5% (8-13) shooting from the floor, 4-6 from three-point range, and 8-10 from the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal.
Sullivan Menard also had his best game in a Nighthawks uniform to date, shooting 6-10 from the field and 5-8 from deep for 17 points while adding four assists.
Easton Reagan was also in double figures with 10 points off the bench.
Nathan Perez added nine points on three triples, while Biggie Bergersen tallied eight points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
NNU will stay in the LA area for one more game this week, visiting Biola in La Mirada on Friday, Dec. 20 for a 2:00 p.m. Pacific tip-off.
