ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team travels to Nampa, Idaho for a GNAC meeting with Northwest Nazarene University.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Tuesday, January 7
At Northwest Nazarene
7:00 p.m.
Nampa, Idaho
 
QUOTABLE
"This is one of the more challenging stretches of the season for us, playing four straight road games and three in six days," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "We need to do everything we can to not let that affect our energy.  Northwest Nazarene has been one of the top defensive teams in our conference this season and will make it tough for us on that end of the floor every possession."
 
SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018-19 STATS | 2019-20 STATS
The Nighthawks are 4-5 on the season and 1-3 in GNAC play.  In the confines of their home arena, Northwest Nazarene is 3-2.
 
Most recently, Northwest Nazarene fell to Western Washington in Bellingham, 84-59.  They held off Simon Fraser in the game prior, 74-71, snapping a four-game losing sreak.
 
They are averaging 69.8 points per game and allowing 75.4 points per game.  George Reidy leads the offense, averaging 13.7 points per game.  Just three-tenths of a point behind is Ezekiel Alley at 13.4 points a night.  Aldaberto Diaz (12.2) and Jayden Bezzant (10.5) round out the other double-digit scorers for the Nighthawks.  Reidy is shooting 58.5 percent from the floor, while Alley is knocking down shots at a clip of 43.1 percent.  Northwest Nazarene is shooting 43.7 percent from the floor, but just 29.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Sam Roth leads the rebounding efforts for the Nighthawks, reeling in seven boards per game.  Olamilekan Adetunji sits in second for Northwest Nazarene with an even six rebounds per game.  Diaz follows closely behind Adetunji at 5.7 rebounds per game.  Overall, the Nighthawks are just two-tenths of a rebound shy of their opponents' average of 38.1 rebounds per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Simon Fraser opened on a 12-4, but baskets from Matt Poquette and Jeryn Lucas, as well as a pair of free throws from Xavier Smith, cut the Clan's early lead to just 14-11.  The Clan then outscored the Wildcats 8-2 over the next 1o points, pushing their advantage to 22-13.  They reached their first double-digit lead of the night on their next basket, 24-13.

Central cut the deficit to five, but Simon Fraser pushed it back to nine with just under four minutes to play in the first half.  A layup from Davon Bolton, followed by a three from Smith, cut the Clan's advantage to just four.  Kevin Baker followed with a layup of his own and the Wildcats were back within two, 32-30.  A free throw from SFU's Matt Kiatipis made it 33-30, before a try from Baker leveled the score at 33 all.

Both Simon Fraser and Central Washington missed on their final possession of the half, but the Clan knocked down one free throw with 30 seconds left to go ahead 34-33 at the half.

Four minutes into the second half, the game was still tightly contested.  The Wildcats worked back from the deficit, tying the game at 39-39.  Simon Fraser went on a 10-0 run, put the Clan ahead 49-39 with 12:41 left in regulation.  

A layup from Marcus Gilson put an end to the Wildcats' offensive drought.  On the Clan's next possession, Tariq Woody forced a turnover and Gilson buried another layup.  Woody wasn't done, however, as he blocked the next shot taken by Michael Provenzano.  Lucas recovered the rebound and drained a trey, pulling CWU within three at 49-46.  Micah Pollard picked up the defensive board, after another miss from Provenzano, and found Gilson on a fast break for the layup.  The Wildcats pulled back to a one-point contest, 49-48.

Immediately after Central's run to make it a one-point game, Simon Fraser rattled off 15 unanswered points for a 64-48 advantage with 6:02 to play.  Central cut the deficit to a dozen, but did not find a way to force overtime.  
 
CWU v NNU HISTORY
Central Washington is 24-13 against Northwest Nazarene since 2002.  The Nighthawks have claimed the last two games in the series, however, in the last 10 meetings between the two institutions it's an even 5-5.
 
In Nampa, Idaho, the Wildcats are 10-7.  Their last victory against the Nighthawks came on January 23, 2018 in a 99-89 affair.
 
Sage Woodruff scored a career-high 26 points, while Khalil Shabazz scored 21 off the bench.  Karsten Chaplik also chipped in with 12 points off the bench.