NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's basketball rallied in the second half to knock off Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night, pulling away late for a 78-70 victory.
The Nighthawks improve to 15-4 on the year and 8-3 in GNAC play.
Alaska shot the ball well in the opening minutes, leading until an
Easton Reagan three-pointer at the 13:23 mark put NNU on top 16-14.
Later in the half, a Biggie Bergersen triple and layup by Reagan gave NNU a six-point advantage, 29-23, with 5:47 to go before the break.
The Nanooks rallied before halftime though, coming back to take a 36-32 lead after 20 minutes of action.
Briggs Ranstrom hit a three to open the second half, but Alaska would extend their lead to six after two minutes. The Nighthawks battled back to tie the game at 48 on a Biggie three at the 15:03 mark, though, and after over two minutes of scoreless basketball,
Sullivan Menard put NNU on top with a triple of his own.
The Nighthawks started to slowly pull away after that, going up by eight, 64-56, on a sweet alley-oop from
Yaru Harvey to
Kye Dickson for the flush with 6:38 remaining.
The Nanooks cut the deficit back down to four, 74-70, on an and-one with 1:25 to play, but the Nighthawks followed with four free throws to take the 78-70 win.
Dickson led the Nighthawks with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Biggie Bergersen added 15 points, followed by
Yaru Harvey with 13 and
Sullivan Menard with 11.
NNU will now host Alaska Anchorage this Saturday, Feb. 8, with opening tip set for 7:30 p.m. in the Johnson Sports Center.
