NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball earned a hard-fought victory over Oklahoma Christian on Saturday night, pulling away from the Eagles late for a 96-86 victory.
The Nighthawks improve to 5-1 on the year and a perfect 4-0 at home in the Johnson Sports Center.
Oklahoma Christian took an early 12-7 lead at the 16:30 mark, but NNU fought back to tie the game at 18 and then take a 22-19 lead on a
Nathan Perez triple with 10:33 left.
The advantage swung back in the Eagles' favor with just over five minutes to go, as a three put the visitors up 31-30. OC held the lead until halftime, going into the break up 38-37.
The Nighthawks came out strong in the second half with an 11-4 run, going up 48-42 on a
Michael Day three-pointer at the 15:29 mark. The Eagles would fight back, however, to take a 59-58 advantage with just under 10 minutes to go.
Things seesawed right back in NNU's favor from there, though, as the Nighthawks went on a 12-0 run that was capped by an
Easton Reagan layup that made it 70-59 with six minutes left.
The lead proved to be insurmountable for the Eagles, with the Nighthawks making their free throws down the stretch to take the 10-point win.
NNU cleaned up well on the boards, outpacing OC 34-25 in rebounding. Both teams shot over 50% from the field, with the Eagles also going 54.5% (6-11) from deep.
Reagan led the Nighthawks in scoring once again with 25 points on the night, going 9-16 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds and three assists.
Jaden Byers also eclipsed the 20-point mark with 22, including 12 free throws.
Garrett Hawkes added 13 points and seven boards, while
Parker Martens had 12 points.
Michael Day also went 3-3 from deep to register nine points along with seven rebounds.
NNU hits the road next week to open up GNAC play, visiting Western Washington on Thursday night and Simon Fraser on Saturday.
