NAMPA, Idaho—Falling behind by as many as 19 points, Western Oregon created a pair of opportunities to pull within a single possession in the final minute before eventually falling to Northwest Nazarene, 78-70, on Saturday night.

With the win, Northwest Nazarene (13-3, 8-2 GNAC) moved into sole possession of second place in the GNAC standings. The Nighthawks have received votes in five of the last six the NABC DII National Polls.

NNU improved to 8-0 on the season while playing at home while Western Oregon (14-5, 7-3 GNAC) fell to 4-3 on the road.

The Wolves will play three of its next four contests at home with a Jan. 31 date against the University of Alaska next on the docket.

Western Oregon grabbed a quick 6-0 lead following 3-pointers by Darius Lubom and Kaleb Warner, but the shooting cooled for the remainder of the half as the Nighthawks went on to build a 44-30 lead at the break.

NNU snared its first lead on a 3-pointer by Adonis Arms at the 13:59 mark for a 10-8 advantage while another Arms' make from deep pushed the lead to double digits at 23-12.

Back-to-back buckets by freshman Cameron Cranston closed the gap to three points (23-20), but another run, this time an eight-point spree, recreated the 11-point lead for the Nighthawks.
The deficit swelled to as many as 15 points before the break and 19 points early in the second half.

Despite shooting 35.1 percent (26-of-74) from the floor and 24.2 percent (8-for-33) from 3-point land, Western Oregon used its work on the glass to spur a rally over the final minutes.
Down by 15,WOU received a jumper by Lubom and a 3-pointer by Jaylin Richardson as part of a nine-point run over a three-minute span to make it a 76-70 score.

Trailing by six with 1:31 left in regulation, the Wolves generated a pair of defensive stops to set up 3-point attempts by Warner and Richardson only for both shots to catch iron. Arms sealed the win with a pair of free throw makes with 18 seconds on the clock.

The Wolves were 0-for-2 from the free throw line in the first half and did not make a free throw until the 14:18 mark in the second half.  

Warner led the Wolves with 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting that included 4-of-13 from long range. Richardson and Riley Hawken added 11 points each.

Richardson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to help the Wolves to a 45-35 advantage on the boards.

NNU shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) on the night for the highest rate by a WOU opponent this season.