MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University men's basketball team made a strong push in the second half to get to within five of Northwest Nazarene. The hill just became too much to climb as the Nighthawks regrouped and pulled away for the 72-64 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win on Saturday inside New PE Gym. The Wolves honored their lone senior in Tyreek Price before the game.
Trailing by 14 early in the second half, WOU (5-16, 4-10 GNAC) started to get right back into the game. A layup by Cameron Cranston helped start a 9-0 run. Price added a layup and then Price again was able to drive for a layup and this time turned it into a three-point-play. Following two free throws by Daisone Hughes, WOU was on a 9-0 run and back to within 43-38 at the 13:47 mark.
Northwest Nazarene (9-8, 7-5 GNAC) pushed the lead back to double-digits. A pair of foul shots by RJ Veliz and then a layup by Yosani Clay helped cut the deficit back to eight, but that would be as close as the Wolves would get the rest of the way. A few more times WOU had the deficit back down to eight, but there were only seconds left and not enough time for a comeback.
WOU took an early 8-4 lead four minutes in on a three-pointer by Zach Moore. A Cranston jumper a few minutes later kept the lead at four before the Nighthawks went on a 14-0 run to jump in front at 20-10. WOU was able to get the deficit down a few times, but NNU kept the lead around double-digits and took a 35-25 lead into halftime.
John Morrill-Keeler just missed a double-double in leading the Wolves with 17 points and nine rebounds. He went 4-8 from the field and 9-12 at the foul line. He also added two blocks and a steal in 33 minutes. Price, Cranston and Clay tallied 12 points apiece. Price played 38 minutes on senior night, going 5-10 from the field, along with four rebounds and an assist. Cranston went 6-18 from the field and also was just short of a double-double with nine rebounds. He also added an assist, three blocks and two steals in 38 minutes. Clay went 5-8 from the field and 2-4 from three, grabbing three rebounds. Hughes added six points in 15 points. WOU went 22-56 (39.3) from the field, 4-19 (21.1) from three and 16-22 (72.7) at the foul line. WOU held a big advantage on fastbreak points (15-2) and also held a 20-14 edge in bench points.
James Nelson led the Nighthawks with a game-high 18 points. He had a stretch in the first half going 5-5 on three-point attempts. He also added six rebounds. George Reidy tallied 16 points and six rebounds and Gabriel Murphy behind a big second half reached double-figures with 14 points and four rebounds. Christian Rose was close to a double-double with seven points and nine rebounds. NNU went 23-56 (41.1) from the field, 9-23 (39.1) from three and 17-30 (56.7) at the foul line. The Nighthawks held a slight 28-26 edge on points in the paint.
WOU will close their home portion of the regular season this coming Monday facing Western Washington starting at 3 p.m. inside New PE Gym.
