ROCKLIN, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball got back on track with a come-from-behind 83-80 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.
The Nighthawks improve to 3-1 on the season, picking up their first victory away from Nampa.
The teams traded three-pointers to start the game, with
Michael Day pouring in the triple for the Nighthawks. The Otters had the upper hand early after that, going up by seven at the 16:59 mark and leading by as much as 11, 32-21, with 9:46 to go in the opening half.
NNU chipped away at the lead just before halftime, though, going on a 9-3 run in the final 90 seconds with three triples to close the period. Day hit the first, followed by
Parker Martens and then Day again at the buzzer to make it 48-45 Otters at the break.
The Nighthawks then opened the second half on an 8-2 run, with a layup from
Briggs Ranstrom making it 53-50 in favor of NNU at the 17:32 mark. The teams went back and forth over the next ten minutes, but CSUMB then pulled away slightly with a seven-point advantage, 76-69, with 7:07 to play.
NNU responded in a big way after that, however, with a 13-2 run to take a four-point lead, 82-78, on a Martens layup with 1:27 to go. The Nighthawks were able to hold on from there, securing the three-point victory.
Parker Martens had his best game in an NNU uniform, pouring in 24 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor and 6-7 from the free throw line.
Michael Day was next with 18 points, including four triples, followed by
Easton Reagan with 16 and
Garrett Hawkes with 11. Hawkes also had eight rebounds, while Day had six.
NNU now comes back home for the annual Thanksgiving tournament, hosting Cal State Los Angeles on Friday, November 28
th and Oklahoma Christian on Saturday, November 29
th. Both games start at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
