BURNABY, B.C. - Northwest Nazarene men's basketball withstood a late challenge by Simon Fraser on Saturday, holding off the Red Leafs 62-56.
 
The Nighthawks improve to 15-9 overall on the season and 11-5 in GNAC play.
 
NNU started hot with a Ryzin Bergersen triple to beat the shot clock giving the Nighthawks a 9-2 lead after less than three minutes of action. SFU rallied back to tie things at 11, though, at the 11:10 mark of the opening half.
 
The teams passed the lead back and forth the rest of the half, with Aaron Murphy ultimately putting NNU on top 26-25 on a layup with 30 seconds before the break.
 
The Nighthawks opened the second half the same way they did the first, putting together a 9-2 run that made it 35-27 NNU at the 17:07 mark.
 
NNU kept the lead around six or eight for most of the second half, before the Red Leafs went on a run with five minutes to go. The Nighthawks still led by six, 52-46, at the 4:27 mark, but Simon Fraser went on a 9-0 run over the next three possessions with an and-one and two threes to take their first lead of the second half at 55-54 with 2:30 to play.
 
The Nighthawks took the lead right back, though, on a pair of free throws from Gabriel Murphy, and NNU would go 8-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to secure the victory.
 
Gabe Murphy led NNU with 15 points and six rebounds, while Tru Allen and Ryzin Bergersen added 13 points each.
 
NNU returns to Nampa for the final games of the regular season next weekend, hosting Western Oregon on Thursday night and Saint Martin's for Senior Day on Saturday.
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