NAMPA, Idaho – A late comeback effort fell just short for the Western Washington University men's basketball team in a 75-72 loss at Northwest Nazarene University Saturday afternoon.

WWU trailed by 10 points late in the second half, but made it a one possession game several times in the final minute before dropping the three-point contest in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The game featured 15 lead changes, 11 ties and was tied 31-31 at the half.

The Vikings slipped to 12-8 overall and finished the first half of the conference schedule with a 4-5 record. NNU improved to 10-7 overall and 6-3 in GNAC play.

Western held a 43-42 lead at the 13:25 mark in the second half, but NNU went on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead at 49-43 and did not trail the remainder of the game. Back-to-back baskets by Ryzin Bergersen put NNU up 61-51 at the 3:07 mark but the Vikings didn't back away trailing by two points with 20-seconds remaining following a three-pointer by Tijan Saine. NNU scores its final 14 points from the free throw line.

WWU guard Kai Johnson continued his junior scoring binge with a team-high 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting and 7-for-11 from the free throw before fouling out in the final minute. The GNAC's leading scorer posted his 14th 20-point performance of the season and has scored in double-digits in all 20 of WWU's games.

Saine added 20 points with a 9-for-9 performance from the free throw line and senior Jonathan Ned tallied 13 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Isaac Morrow grabbed a team-high seven boards.

NNU was led by a game-high 27 points from Bergersen (9-for-16 FG, 4-for-7 3FG, 5-for-8 FT) and an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double by Gabriel Murphy.

The Vikings (12-8, 4-5 GNAC) continues its stretch of four consecutive road games next week, opening the second half of the GNAC schedule traveling to play at top five nationally-ranked Saint Martin's on Thursday (Feb. 1, 7:00 pm) and Western Oregon on Saturday (Feb. 3, 2 pm). The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

Redshirt freshman Tijan Saine was selected as the WECU Player of the Game after scoring 20 points in the three-point loss at NNU. Saine was perfect from the free throw line going 9-for-9 and hit a big three-pointer in the final seconds to pull the Vikings to within two points at 70-68 with 20-seconds on the clock. For the season Saine is averaging 11.2 points per game and is one of the top free throw shooters in the GNAC at 90.8-percent from the charity stripe (79-for-87). Saine has made 23 consecutive free throws dating back to the win over Alaska Anchorage.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Northwest Nazarene:

WWU had its three-game winning streak vs. NNU snapped with Saturday's 75-72 loss in the Johnson Center. The Vikings were 78-60 winners in Carver Gym last season (1/21/23) and prevailed in overtime 96-91 in Nampa (2/16/23). WWU continues to lead the all-time series 36-13 with a 14-9 record in road games at NNU.

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the narrow three-point loss at NNU:

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 12 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 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has 20-win seasons in three of the last five years (and seven of 10) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 15 winningest Division II programs with its 1,555 all-time victories.