CALDWELL, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball took on rival College of Idaho in round one of the 2025 United Heritage Mayors' Cup on Wednesday night, falling to the Yotes 75-64.
The game was an exhibition for the Nighthawks, so does not count towards season records or statistics.
College of Idaho started off strong with a 7-2 lead after four minutes of action, but NNU quickly responded to tie it up on a
Michael Day layup and
Parker Martens three. The Yotes got hot from the three-point line over the next few minutes, though, building a 19-10 lead at the 10:29 mark.
C of I still led by 10, 28-18, with 4:34 to go until halftime. NNU ended the half on a 14-9 run, however, capped by a
Jaden Byers triple and a
Briggs Ranstrom layup as time expired to cut the deficit to five, 37-32.
The Nighthawks cut the deficit to two early in the second half, 43-41, on a pair of free throws from
Easton Reagan. The Yotes responded with an 8-2 run, taking a 51-43 lead with 15:55 to play.
NNU struggled to put together a run from there, keeping the deficit around 10 points but not able to gain any ground. The closest the Nighthawks came was at the 5:30 mark, when a
Garrett Hawkes triple made it a seven-point game, 62-55.
C of I quickly built their lead back up to double digits, though, and eventually took the 75-64 win.
Jaden Byers led the Nighthawks with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Briggs Ranstrom also had a double-double, registering 12 points and 10 boards.
Easton Reagan and
Michael Day each had nine points, followed by
Kyelin King with eight.
NNU ended up winning the rebounding battle by one, 40-39, but the difference in the game was the shooting as College of Idaho was 44.6% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range while the Nighthawks shot 37.3% overall and just 22.7% from deep.
The Nighthawks are now set to officially open their 2025-26 campaign at home this Saturday, Nov. 15, hosting UC Merced at 2:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
