NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University men's basketball team put together a strong second-half comeback attempt, but couldn't catch up to Northwest Nazarene in an 82-74 defeat Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at the Johnson Sports Center. 

Redshirt junior guard Leif Anderson (Bellingham, WA/Sehome/Whatcom CC) led the Vikings with a career-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

WWU has dropped six of its last eight games to fall to 8-7 overall and is 2-3 in GNAC play. The Nighthawks won their third straight to improve to 9-2 overall and remain in a second-place tie in the conference standings with a 4-1 mark.

NNU junior guard Adonis Arms improved on his GNAC leading scoring average, recording a game-high 34 points on 11-for-17 shooting (3-5 3FG, 9-11 FT). The 34-point effort is tied for the best scoring performance by a GNAC player this season. Olamilekan Adetunji added an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Nighthawks.

In addition to Anderson's team-high 21 points, WWU junior forward Trevor Jasinsky (Camas, WA) scored 14 points and led the Vikings with 7 rebounds.

The Vikings shot 34.8 percent for the game (24-for-69) and were 12-for-36 from 3-point range…marked the second-lowest field goal percentage of the season…36 3-point field goal attempts are tied for 4^th-most in a game during the NCAA era (since 1998-99)…Trevor Jasinsky has scored in double-digits in 14 of 15 games and leads the team averaging 19.3 points per game…the Vikings were out-rebounded 53-33, tied for the largest rebound margin deficit of the season (also -20 vs. Humboldt State).

WWU opened the second half on a 12-2 run, including scoring 12 consecutive points, cutting the deficit to four points at 41-37. NNU answered with a 6-0 run, but WWU remained close with a 5-point deficit at 47-42 with 12:01 remaining in the game. A 15-5 NNU run over the next four minutes put the game out of reach as the Nighthawks extended their lead to 17 points at 64-47. The Vikings made it a two possession game following a 3-pointer by Cameron Retherford with 1:16 remaining, but NNU scored five consecutive points to seal the victory.

The Vikings trailed by 14 points at the half, 39-25, with NNU using a 14-2 run midway through the half to build their lead to double-digits. WWU pulled to within 5 points at 21-16 following an RJ Secrest 3-pointer at the 10:42 mark, but the Nighthawks responded with a 9-0 run to build the lead to 14 points at 30-16. NNU led by as many as 19 points at 39-20, but Western ended the half on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 14 points. Leif Anderson led Vikings with 8 points on 3-for-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and Trevor Jasinsky added 7 points and 5 rebounds. The Vikings shot 28.1 percent from the floor (9-for-32) and were 4-for-13 from 3-point range. NNU was led by 18 points from Adonis Arms (7-for-9 FG) as the Nighthawks shot 42.9 percent (15-for-35).

NNU snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Vikings, gaining its first win over WWU since Jan. 17, 2015 in Nampa (80-73). The Vikings still lead the all-time series 32-10, including a 13-2 record over the last 15 games in the series.

The Vikings continue their GNAC road trip on Saturday facing with the annual rivalry game vs. Central Washington (8-5, 2-3) on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 pm inside Nicholson Pavilion. The game at CWU can be followed live online via webcast and statistical updates at GNAC.tv.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings with all games completed on Thursday:

WWU will serve as the host for the 2019 GNAC Championships, with the top six teams in both the men's and women's conference standings at the end of the season qualifying for the tournament that will be held March 7-9 on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 

Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 10 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The program recently completed its 116^th season posting a 21-8 record in 2017-18, and have combined for 1,487 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history.

-- @WWUHoops --