NAMPA, Idaho – Thanks to a 9-1 run in the game's final two-plus minutes, Western Oregon University's men's basketball earned its 20th win of the season with a come-from-behind 66-62 victory over Northwest Nazarene University Saturday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside Nicholson Pavilion.
"Our kids gutted themselves to find a way to win tonight," said Head Coach
Brady Bergeson. "It was an exhausting, physical, hard-fought game. I'm so proud of our young men."
Western Oregon (20-3, 12-1 GNAC), who is ranked No. 20 in the latest NABC Coaches Poll, posted its first season with 20-or-more victories since the Wolves went 20-9 during the 1996-97 season as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In the 94-year history of the program, WOU has registered 20-or-more wins only 14 times that included two stretches of four straight seasons from 1979-83 and 1993-97.
The Wolves were led offensively by junior
Devon Alexander with a game-high 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, while the junior combo of
Andy Avgi and
Julian Nichols also scored in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Avgi also pulled down a game-high tying eight rebounds to go along with a game-high five assists by Nichols to go along with a game-high six steals by Alexander.
Northwest Nazarene (10-12, 8-4 GNAC) had four players score in double figured led by Alex Birketoft with 15 points, while Erik Kinney, Mike Wright, and Kevin Rima chipped in with 13, 10, and 10 points, respectively. On the boards, Kinney pulled down a game-high tying eight rebounds to go along with a team-best four assists.
In the opening three minutes, Western Oregon jumped out to an 8-4 lead on a jumper by Avgi with 16:54 on the clock. The visiting Wolves would continue to hold the lead until Kinney handed NNU a 20-19 lead on a fastbreak dunk with 10:26 left in the first half. A 9-1 run over a span of five minutes would give Western Oregon a seven-point lead (28-21) on a jumper in the paint by senior
Adam Hastings with just under six minutes remaining. After WOU secured a 32-25 lead at the 3:53 mark, Northwest Nazarene closed out the first half on a 12-0 run resulting in a 37-32 at halftime for the host Crusaders.
The second half would begin with Western Oregon scoring the opening 11 points en route to grabbing a 43-37 lead on a three-pointer by Nichols with 16:01 left in the game. Over the next three minutes, Northwest Nazarene used an 8-2 run to tie the game for the fifth time at 45-45 before the Crusaders secured a two-point lead (47-45) on another Kinney dunk with 11:44 on the clock. Over the next four minutes, NNU would push its lead to eight points (57-49) on an old-fashion three-point play by Kinney with 7:11 remaining. Western Oregon would use an 8-2 run over a span of four-plus minutes to pull within 59-57 before NNU pushed its lead to four points after a pair of free throws by Kevin Rima with 2:38 left. A three-pointer from the top of the key by Avgi would spark Western Oregon's aforementioned 9-1 game-ending run, as the Wolves went ahead by three points (64-61) on back-to-back free throws by Alexander with 14.7 seconds left. After the ensuing timeout by NNU, the Crusaders drew a foul on a three-point attempt by Matyas Hering with 4.7 seconds on the clock. Fortunately for the Wolves, Hering missed his second free throw forcing him to intentionally miss the third as a NNU player was called for entering the lane early. After WOU got the ball into Alexander despite NNU's full-court press, the junior guard sank both free throws resulting in a 66-62 lead for Western Oregon. Northwest Nazarene's three-point attempt at the end resulted in an offensive rebound, but the Crusaders could not find the bottom of the net, as Western Oregon extended its winning streak to 10 games with the four-point victory (66-62).
As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 24-for-51 (47.1%) from the field that included 3-for-14 (21.4%) from beyond the three-point line and 15-for-20 (75.0%) at the free throw line. Northwest Nazarene, on the other hand, was a combined 24-for-49 (49.0%) from the field that included 65.2% (15-for-23) in the first half. The Crusaders were also a combined 6-for-14 (42.9%) from long distance and 8-of-12 (66.7%) at the charity stripe.
Western Oregon returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, February 11, against GNAC rival Saint Martin's University in the ROOT Sports GNAC Game of the Week beginning at 8 p.m. inside Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Washington.
