BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team received another outstanding scoring performance from junior Trevor Jasinsky, but a long second-half scoring run lifted No. 24 nationally-ranked Northwest Nazarene to a 90-79 victory over the Vikings Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action in Carver Gym.

The Vikings fell to 12-12 overall and 6-8 in GNAC play, while NNU got back on the winning track after a Thursday loss at Simon Fraser to improve to 16-4 overall and 11-3 in conference play.

Jasinsky (Camas, WA) recorded his league-best 15^th 20-point game of the season, scoring a game-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting. The junior was 3-for-8 from 3-point range, 6-for-6 from the free throw line and tied for the team-high with 7 rebounds.

Junior guard Leif Anderson (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) added 16 points, connecting on five 3-pointers, and junior guard Tucker Eenigenburg (Bakersfield, CA/Bakersfield College) had 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Junior forward Cameron Retherford (Portland, OR/Portland CC) contributed 12 points and 7 rebounds while making his second consecutive start.

The Nighthawks used a balanced scoring attack in the 11-point victory, featuring seven players with at least 8 points. Senior guard Obi Megwa led NNU with 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting, and also grabbed 11 rebounds for the double-double. Conference scoring leader Adonis Arms was held below his season scoring average (21.3 entering the game) with 17 points. Olamilekan Adetunji was 4-for-5 from the field and tallied a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.

The Vikings were limited to 36.0% shooting from the floor, going 27-for-75 from the field, including 12-for-38 from 3-point range…the 38 3-point attempts are 3^rd-most by the program during the GNAC era (since 2001-02)…WWU was out-rebounded 48-33, including a 38-24 margin on defensive rebounds…WWU had 17 assists and only committed 9 turnovers (18 TO by NNU)…Tyler Payne recorded a team-high 6 assists, his third straight game with 5-or-more assists (averaging 3.4 assists/game)…NNU led for 36:40, with WWU leading for one possession (00:07) late in the first half…NNU out-scored WWU in the paint 44-16 and had 14 fast-break points (WWU had none)…NNU shot 50.8% (31-for-61), the fifth time this season an opponent has shot over 50.0% in a game (third in GNAC play).

The Vikings hung with NNU in the first six minutes of the second half, with a Trevor Jasinsky 3-pointer pulling WWU to within three points at 62-59 with 14:05 remaining in the game. The Nighthawks stalled the momentum with an immediate 5-0 run, and pulled away from a 69-65 game by going on a 12-0 run to turn a 4-point lead into a 16-point advantage. 

Tucker Eenigenburg led WWU with 11 second-half points, while Obi Megwa scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.

The Vikings got off to a tough shooting start, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, and trailed by as many as 12 points at 33-21 at the 6:54 mark. But WWU heated up from long range, hitting 4 of its next 5 3-pointers as part of a 17-5 run to pull even at 38-38 and eventually ahead 40-38. NNU scored the final five points of the half to take a 3-point 43-40 lead into the half. Trevor Jasinsky led all players with 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting (6-for-6 FT), with Leif Anderson adding 9 points on 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. 

NNU built its 12-point lead going on a 19-8 run, pulling away from a 14-13 game at the 14:46 mark. The Nighthawks featured a balanced first-half scoring attack with six players scoring at least five points. James Nelson paced NNU with 9 points, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. 

WWU shot 36.8% from the field (14-for-38), while NNU was 17-for-31 (54.8%).

Trevor Jasinsky continues his amazing junior season, scoring a game-high 23 points. Jasinsky has now scored in double digits in 22 of 24 games this season and leads the GNAC with 15 games with 20-or-more points…averaging 20.0 points per game to rank 2^nd in the GNAC…in two games during the week averaged 28.0 points (56 points), scoring 23 vs. NNU and a career-high 33 vs. Central Washington…now has 982 career points, 18 shy of becoming the 26^th player in WWU history to reach the 1,000 point mark for a career.

The Vikings face a quick turnaround returning to the road next week to begin a string of four consecutive games away from Bellingham, beginning with a Tuesday contest at Simon Fraser (12-10, 6-8) in West Gym in Burnaby, BC (7 pm). WWU then travels to play Montana State Billings for a Saturday showdown with the Yellowjackets at 7:30 pm MT/6:30 pm PT in Alterowitz Gym. Four of Western's six remaining regular-season games are on the road.

NNU clinched the season sweep over the Vikings, also winning in Nampa 82-74 on Jan. 10…first season sweep by NNU over WWU since 2010-11 (NNU went 3-0 vs. WWU that season)…first win by NNU in Bellingham since 2011, snapping a 6-game losing streak…the Vikings had won seven straight in the series entering this season…WWU continues to lead the all-time series 32-11.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through Saturday's games:

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 1,491 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history. 

-- @WWUHoops --