NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Oregon men's basketball team was unable to hold on to a 16-point lead on Saturday night, falling in a pivotal game to the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks, 89-87 in overtime, at Johnson Sports Center.

Western Oregon (17-7, 11-7 GNAC) lost their grip on second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with the loss, falling into a tie for fourth and sinking their hopes of a bye in the first round of the conference championships.

The Wolves were out to a typical hot start from the field, shooting nearly 52 percent in the first half and 53 percent from 3-point range. The fiery offense led to as much as a 10-point lead in the early going, but Northwest Nazarene (15-8, 12-6 GNAC) closed the period on a 16-7 run to get within one at the break.

Jaylyn Richardson scored 11 of his 13 points in the opening half, going 4-for-4 from the field including 3-for-3 from deep. The senior quieted down in the second half, however, going just 1-for-7 after the break.

Western established their 16-point in the second half thanks to a 15-0 run to push their advantage out to 66-50. The Nighthawks closed the gap extremely quickly after getting behind by 16, going on a 17-2 run of their own to get within one at the 5:04 mark of the second half.

Adalberto Diaz hit a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, setting up a chance at the win for each side. Darius Lubom's jumper would rattle out with five seconds left and the Nighthawks could not get a clean look on the other end as time expired, sending WOU to overtime for the fourth time this season.

The Wolves led by four with under two minutes left in the extra period, but NNU would score the final six points of the game to earn the season sweep over WOU. Western is now 0-4 on the year in overtime games.

The Nighthawks shot 54 percent from the field in the second half and 4-for-8 in OT. They were led in scoring by the 22 of Diaz, adding on seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Diaz was just 1-for-8 from 3-point range, however, on a night when NNU shot just 23.8 percent from deep.

Both sides gave up 14 turnovers while snatching 10 steals. Lubom swiped three steals of his own while posting six points, six rebounds and six assists. Dalven Brushier led all scorers in the game with 23 points, four boards, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes of work.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Wolves have still not officially clinched a berth in the GNAC Championships. Seattle Pacific has locked up the first seed while Western Washington and NNU have also clinched berths. The Wolves are tied with the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves for fourth, sitting one game behind the tie for second and one game ahead of the Alaska Nanooks in sixth. They additionally hold a two-game lead over the Central Washington Wildcats in seventh.

WOU returns home next week to finish off their regular season slate, hosting the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. and the Alaska Nanooks on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 4:15 p.m. PST for senior night at NPE Gym.