The Northwest Nazarene men’s basketball team came up just short against visiting Western Washington, falling 80-78 on Treasure Valley School Night at the Johnson Sports Center in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
The good: The Crusaders shot 54.6 percent from the field (30-of-56) and held the second-best shooting team in the league to just 40 percent.
NNU was out-rebounded 43-31 by the Vikings, who held a commanding 21-4 edge on the offensive boards. That led to almost 20 more shot opportunities, and ultimately the two-point victory.
The Crusaders look to bounce back quickly as they host Simon Fraser on Saturday night at 7 to wrap up the first half of the GNAC season. Wright led the way for NNU on the night with a game-high 22 points along with five rebounds, while N’Diaye added 15 points, six boards and four blocked shots. Joel Devastey had 14 points and Detwon Rogers scored 10 for NNU.
