NAMPA, Idaho -
Gibson Berryhill tied a career-high with 17 points, but Northwest Nazarene responded to every College of Idaho second half surge, as the Nighthawks claimed the United Heritage Insurance Mayors Cup with an 83-73 victory inside the Johnson Sports Center.
The loss for the Coyotes (9-1) ended a seven-game win streak and prevented the squad from sweeping the series with their Canyon County rival for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Trailing 36-33 at the break, the Yotes got a
Nate Bruneel trey, a steal and basket from
Talon Pinckney and a
Keun Palu-Thompson baseline jumper - with the 7-0 run giving the visitors a 44-41 lead five minutes into the period. The Division II Nighthawks (4-0) countered with 3's from Sam Roth and Nikola Prvulj in an 11-4 run that pushed NNU's lead to 57-51.
The lead grew to 65-56 on a runner in the paint from Obi Megwa, before
Justin Saunders canned a triple and Bruneel hit two free throws to get C of I within four - but the Yotes could not get closer - as the Nighthawks made five of their final six shots and drained 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes.
C of I controlled the first 10 minutes of the game - as 3's from Saunders and Berryhill gave the Yotes a 26-19 at the 9:22 mark of the opening half. Following a time out, NNU rattled off 17 of the next 21 points - as Adonis Arms scored eight in the rally, including a thunderous dunk in transition to give the hosts a 36-30 lead.
Bruneel scored 15 points, Palu-Thompson had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds, with Pinckney scoring eight points with seven assists and three steals to lead the Yotes. Megwa led all scorers with 18 points for the Nighthawks, with Arms adding 16 points and Adalberto Diaz scoring 14.
The Coyotes return home this weekend to host the 32nd Annual Taco Bell Shoot-Out, welcoming Eastern Oregon, Northwest Indian College and Montana Western to the Activities Center.
NOTES - NNU made 50-percent of their field goal attempts in the second half, while holding C of I to just 4-of-13 shooting from 3-point range in the period...the Yotes recorded 17 turnovers, which the Nighthawks turned into 21 points...attendance was 2,136, the largest crowd in Nampa for the Mayors' Cup series in 10 years.
