NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball got back to their winning ways on Thursday night, defeating Montana State Billings 76-70.
The Nighthawks improve to 12-2 on the year and 5-1 in GNAC play, bouncing back from a road loss to Alaska Fairbanks last Saturday.
NNU came out hot, scoring on four of their first five possessions to take an 11-0 lead just two and a half minutes into the game.
Kye Dickson had the first eight, converting a layup and then drilling back-to-back triples before
Briggs Ranstrom nailed a three to cap the run.
MSUB countered with a run of their own, however, scoring 14 of the next 16 points to take a 14-13 lead at the 11:40 mark. The Yellowjackets led for most of the rest of the half, but the Nighthawks were able to keep the deficit to just one heading into the break, 34-33.
The Yellowjackets led by as many as five multiple times early in the second half, but NNU kept bouncing back and eventually tied the game at 58 with 10 minutes to play.
After a full two minutes of no scoring from either team, Dickson registered a layup and a jumper to put the Nighthawks in front by four with 6:51 to go. NNU never trailed again, receiving clutch triples from Ranstrom and Ray Bergersen and a fastbreak layup from Dickson off a
Yaru Harvey steal to go up six, 72-66, with 3:17 to play.
The Nighthawks held off any Yellowjacket attempt at a late comeback, coming away with the 76-70 victory.
Dickson, who entered the night leading the conference in scoring at just over 18 points per game, increased that total with a 25-point effort. He ended with a double-double, also pulling down 11 rebounds.
Biggie Bergersen registered 16 points and seven assists, while Ranstrom finished with 11 points including three triples. Harvey added five assists and five steals.
NNU remains home for another game this Saturday, hosting Seattle Pacific at 7:30 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
