NAMPA, Idaho - The Nanooks could not keep hold of a 36-32 halftime lead against the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Thursday afternoon, surrendering 46 points in the second half and falling by a final of 78-70.

How it Happened
The 'Nooks kicked things off with threes on their opening two possessions, with Jalai O'Keith and Paul Johnson connecting from deep to give them an early 6-2 advantage. The Nighthawks took the lead thanks to a 6-0 run, but O'Keith posted two more triples to put the Nanooks in front 14-11. The two sides traded the lead five times over the next 3:26, and the Nighthawks found themselves up 29-23 with 5:47 remaining in the half. Johnson notched another three out of an Alaska timeout, and Elyon Zevenbergen followed with a layup to make it a one-point game. The 'Nooks eventually retook the lead on another three-ball from Johnson, with O'Keith sinking his own three on the following possession to give the Blue & Gold a 36-32 lead with 2:34 to go until the break. Neither team scored for the remainder of the half, and Alaska held a four-point advantage after the opening 20 minutes.

Isaiah Saams-Hoy started the second by scoring on Alaska's first three possessions, knocking down a three, a layup and a jumper to put the Nanooks ahead 43-37. Lee scored their next five points from the line, but NNU retook the lead with a pair of unanswered threes, putting itself up 51-48. Ketan Sidhu leveled things up with a three on the ensuing possession, and Zevenbergen sank a layup to put the 'Nooks back in front 53-52 at the 11:47 mark, but the their time in front would not last long, as six unanswered NNU points saw Alaska trail by five. Johnson cut the deficit to two with a layup, but the 'Nooks would not get within three points of the Nighthawks for the remainder of the contest, eventually falling by eight.

Inside the Numbers

• Chris Lee and Paul Johnson tied for the team lead with 13 points. Johnson went 3-4 from beyond the arc and led the team with five assists, while Lee picked up five rebounds and three assists.
• Jalai O'Keith and Isaiah Saams-Hoy followed with 12 points apiece. O'Keith knocked down four of his six attempts from deep and grabbed a team-high eight boards.
• Elyon Zevenbergen posted nine points on 3-5 shooting.
• Alaska posted shooting splits of 48% and 40.7% while connecting on 11 of their 12 attempts from the line.
• They grabbed 28 rebounds to NNU's 30.
• The Nanooks led in second-chance points (6-5) and bench points (15-10), but trailed in points off turnovers (20-6) and points in the paint (32-24).

What's to Come
The Nanooks are on the road for one more against Central Washington on Saturday, with tipoff set for 5:15 p.m. AKST.

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