NAMPA, ID – The three-point barrage from Colorado Christian could not overcome the inside effort from Northwest Nazarene.

In tightly played contest throughout, the Nighthawks squeaked out a 77-74 victory on their home court during the Fairfield Inn Classic.

The Cougars hit nearly the same number of field goal attempts from inside and outside the three-point line while Northwest Nazarene hit just four long jumper but were effective down low.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The opening half was nip-and-tuck through the 20 minutes. There were six ties and six lead changes in the frame as neither team held a lead larger than seven points.

Colorado Christian took a 40-37 lead into the locker room as Justin Engesser hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the half. Elijah Oliver was a scoring machine as he hit seven of his nine field goal attempts as he notched 19 points. The transfer junior hit all three of his shots from deep to aid in his scoring output.

As the early moments of the second half unfolded the home team took their largest lead of the game. Northwest Nazarene's Gabriel Murphy nailed a jumper with 15:05 left to give his team a 53-45 edge. Colorado Christian chipped away and got within two points (61-59) after a Jeremiah Dickerson hit a three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining.

That long-range shot helped spark the Cougars as they retook the lead at 64-63 as Collin Huun hit a driving lay-up after a steal with 5:35 left. Two possessions later Huun nailed a shot from behind the arc as Colorado Christian went up four points (67-63). However, with two minutes left the game was tied at 67-67.

Northwest Nazarene had a three-point play then nailed a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions as they took a 73-69 led with just under 60 seconds left. After holding the Cougar scoreless the Nighthawks hit a pair of free throws to take a six-point lead in the waning seconds. Nonetheless, Engesser kept the Cougars in the contest with 17 seconds remaining on a three-pointer.

On the Nighthawks ensuing opportunity they missed the front end of a one-and-one and Huun hit a lay-in to get the Cougars within 75-74 with two ticks left. Northwest Nazarene was fouled and hit both free throws with four-tenths of a second left. On the inbound play, the Cougars had a desperation three-pointer from Jake Hornick glance off the rim at the buzzer.

COUGAR LEADERS: Engesser had a team high 20 points on the strength of a 6-for-11 effort from behind the arc. Oliver completed his evening off the bench with 19 points. Both Aiden Cantwell and Collin Huun each had 10 points. Cantwell had a team high seven rebounds.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Colorado Christian made 13 field goal attempts from behind the arc and 14 from inside the arc
• There were just 23 turnovers in the game (NNU – 13, CCU – 10)
• Northwest Nazarene held a 50-14 edge for points in the paint
• Nine ties and Nine lead changes

UP NEXT: The Cougars conclude their two-game swing in the Potato State when they play Central Washington to conclude the Fairfield Inn Tournament. The contest is slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off.