Men's Basketball | 1/9/2014 7:54:00 PM

Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho – The Northwest Nazarene University men's basketball team snapped Western Oregon University's conference-long win streak of six games with an 85-77 victory Thursday.

The Crusaders' (4-8, 2-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) Michael Loomis scored a career-high 33 points. The true freshman made seven of his eight three-point attempts and all eight of his free throw shots. His point total was an individual season-high for a WOU opponent. As a team, NNU connected on 16 of its 25 three-pointers.

Mario Donaldson chipped in 13 points for the Crusaders, who have now won 11 of the last 12 against WOU at home. Matyas Hering and Grayson Moore both had 12 points. Moore also finished with a game-high seven rebounds. Donaldson and Moore both dished out four assists.

Northwest Nazarene outrebounded the Wolves, 33-28, in the victory. It also shot 54 percent from the field, compared to WOU's 46 percent. Western Oregon has won all eight of its games this season when it finishes with a better field goal percentage than its opponent, but it is now 2-5 when it does not. NNU was also 11-of-14 from the free throw line. The Wolves forced 17 turnovers, while committing 10.

Seven of the games' nine lead changes came in the first half. The Crusaders had an early 8-4 lead just over three minutes into the game. WOU made a 7-0 run over the next five minutes. Loomis gave NNU a 22-21 lead with 9:22 left in the first half, but the Wolves scored the next eight points for their largest lead of the game, 29-22, with 7:47 remaining in the opening stanza. However, NNU answered by scoring 19 of the next 25 points, and took a 41-40 lead, and the momentum, into halftime.

The lead changed a few times to start the second half, and Andy Avgi gave WOU a 45-43 lead two minutes in. The Wolves never led again. The Crusaders responded with an 11-1 run over the next three minutes. Western Oregon tied the game at 58, but NNU would build its lead back to six points twice over an eight minute span. Lewis Thomas cut the margin to three points with 1:08 remaining in regulation, but WOU failed to score again.

Avgi led Western Oregon (10-5, 3-2 GNAC) with a season-high 25 points. The sophomore was 9-of-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Rodney Webster added 12 points and five assists. Marwan Sarhan grabbed a team-high six rebounds, but his 13-game streak of reaching double-digit scoring ended with eight points.

Western Oregon made 10 of its 28 shots from behind-the-arc. It was only the second time this season WOU made 10 three-pointers in a game. The Wolves were also 9-for-13 from the free throw line. They had a 24-6 advantage off of the bench and a 32-22 edge in the paint.

The Wolves travel to Ellensburg, Wash., for a matchup with Central Washington (5-6, 1-2) Saturday. It will be the 53rd meeting between the programs, with the Wildcats holding a 42-10 advantage in the series. Western Oregon will be looking for only its second win in the last nine games at CWU. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with live video and stats on WOUWolves.com.

Western Oregon vs Northwest Nazarene
01/09/14 7:00 pm at Nampa, ID
At Nampa, ID
NORTHWEST NAZARENE 85, WESTERN OREGON 77
WESTERN OREGON (10-5, 3-2)
Avgi,Andy 9-11 6-7 25; Webster,Rodney 5-12 2-2 12; Thomas,Lewis 3-9 0-0 9;
Alexander,Devon 3-9 0-0 8; Sarhan,Marwan 3-8 1-4 8; Wiley,Jordan 3-6 0-0 8;
Hastings,Adam 2-3 0-0 4; Sabic,Mirza 1-4 0-0 3; Schriber,Jordan 0-1 0-0 0;
Johnson,Drew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-63 9-13 77.
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (4-8, 2-2)
Loomis,Michael 9-15 8-8 33; Donaldson,Mario 5-8 0-0 13; Moore,Grayson 5-10
0-1 12; Hering,Matyas 4-5 2-2 12; Rima,Kevin 4-8 1-3 9; Isaak,Derek 1-6 0-0
3; Perryman,Shayne 1-1 0-0 3; Damon,Austin 0-0 0-0 0; Olivier,Pol 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 29-53 11-14 85.
Western Oregon................   40   37  -   77
Northwest Nazarene............   41   44  -   85
3-point goals--Western Oregon 10-28 (Thomas,Lewis 3-8; Wiley,Jordan 2-4;
Alexander,Devon 2-7; Sabic,Mirza 1-4; Avgi,Andy 1-1; Sarhan,Marwan 1-1;
Schriber,Jordan 0-1; Webster,Rodney 0-2), Northwest Nazarene 16-25
(Loomis,Michael 7-8; Donaldson,Mario 3-4; Hering,Matyas 2-3; Moore,Grayson
2-5; Isaak,Derek 1-4; Perryman,Shayne 1-1). Fouled out--Western Oregon-None,
Northwest Nazarene-Rima,Kevin. Rebounds--Western Oregon 28 (Sarhan,Marwan
6), Northwest Nazarene 33 (Moore,Grayson 7). Assists--Western Oregon 15
(Webster,Rodney 5), Northwest Nazarene 21 (Moore,Grayson 4; Donaldson,Mario
4). Total fouls--Western Oregon 14, Northwest Nazarene 15. Technical
fouls--Western Oregon-None, Northwest Nazarene-None. A-241