NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene held the College of Idaho to two made field goals over a 13-minute stretch of the second half, erasing a Coyote lead to keep the United Heritage Insurance Mayors' Cup with a 66-57 victory inside the Johnson Sports Center.
The Nighthawks (1-0) limited their rivals to 32-percent shooting on the night and just 5-of-26 shooting from outside the arc in winning their fifth-straight home game in the series. It was the 207th all-time meeting between the Canyon County rivals.
The Yotes (4-1) burst out of the gates – making nine of their first 16 shots on the night. Treys from
Jake Bruner and
Nate Bruneel, followed by a steal and bucket from
Ricardo Time and a jumper from
Talon Pinckney keyed a 10-0 run to take a 19-9 lead. A Bruneel slam gave C of I their largest lead of the night at 23-11 at the under 12 minute timeout.
From there – it was all NNU. The Nighthawks held C of I to just 10-of-43 shooting the rest of the game, as Jaylen Fox and George Reidy hit 3's in a 13-2 run to close the half to give the hosts a 36-34 lead at the break.
A triple from
Derek Wadsworth and a Pinckney basket gave the Coyotes the final lead at 45-42 with 15 minutes left. However, C of I made just two of their next 20 shots and committed five turnovers, as the Nighthawks used a 17-6 run to take command.
Pinckney was the lone Coyote in double-figures with 13 points, including 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Wadsworth had nine points, Bruneel had nine points and seven boards, with Bruner scoring eight points with eight rebounds.
NNU won despite making just 37-percent of their field goals – as Fox led all players with 15 points and Sam Roth added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Next Tuesday, the two teams play the back half of the annual home-and-home rivalry, meeting in the Activities Center for a 7 p.m. tip.
