Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho - Led by 21 points from junior forward Jeffrey Parker the Western Washington University Vikings picked up a hard-fought road victory 80-78 over Northwest Nazarene Thursday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at the Johnson Sports Center.

Western improved to 11-7 overall and 5-4 in GNAC play with the road win. The Crusaders drop to 10-8 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

The game featured 20 lead changes and 9 tie games. NNU held a three-point lead at 71-68 with 3:55 remaining after a 3-pointer by Detwon Rogers, but senior guard Ricardo Maxwell (Cincinnati, OH/Withrow/Edmonds CC) answered with a 3-point play to tie the game 71-71. WWU took a 73-71 lead on a layup by senior forward Colby Mitchell (Chugiak, AK/Mount Hood CC) with 3:03 remaining and never looked back.

The Vikings shot a season-low 40.0% from the field (30-for-75, 6-for-25 3-point), while NNU shot 53.6% (30-for-56, 9-for-21 3-point).

Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) scored all 21 of his points in the first half, leading the Vikings in scoring for the sixth time this season. He added 8 rebounds. Maxwell scored 16 points (8 in each half). Redshirt freshman Trey Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Mitchell came off the bench to record 9 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes and sophomore guard Brad Wallace (Lacy, WA/River Ridge/North Idaho/EWU) tallied 8 points and 9 rebounds in 20 minutes in his first extended action of the season.

The Vikings held a 45-41 WWU lead at halftime with Parker leading the way with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting.

NNU was led by a game-high 22 points from Mike Wright on 9-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Bouna N'Diaye (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks), Joel Devastey (14 points) and Rogers (10 points) also scored in double-digits for the Crusaders.

The Vikings (11-7, 5-4 GNAC) returns to action Saturday at Central Washington (6 pm) in a game televised by ROOT SPORTS.