Crusaders cruising
N E W S , N U G G E T S & U P D AT E S February 4, 2015 Contact NNU Athletics: 467-8505
ON
Contact NNU Sports Information: 467-8474
Follow the Crusaders online: www.nnusports.com
Crusaders cruising
Feb. 19: NNU Men vs Alaska, 7 pm
Upcoming:
Track & Field Day Date Opponent Fri. Sat.
Time
2-6 New Balance Indoor 3 pm at Ford Idaho Center, Nampa, Idaho 2-7 New Balance Indoor 8:45 am at Ford Idaho Center, Nampa, Idaho
Men’s Basketball
Overall (9-11); GNAC (7-3) Day Date Opponent
Time
Thur. 2-5 St. Martin’s Sat. 2-7 Western Oregon
7 pm 7 pm
Women’s Basketball Overall (5-15); GNAC (3-8)
Day Date Opponent
Time
Thur. 2-5 at Western Wash. Sat. 2-7 at Simon Fraser
7 pm 1 pm
Baseball
Overall (0-0); GNAC (0-0) Day Date Opponent
Time
Fri. 2-6 British Columbia Fri. 2-6 Lewis-Clark St. Sat. 2-7 Concordia Sat. 2-7 College of Idaho
1 pm 4:30 pm Noon 3:30 pm
Softball
Overall (0-0); GNAC (0-0) Day Date Opponent
Time
Tue. 2-10 at William Jessup (DH) 1 pm Wed. 2-11 at William Jessup (DH) 1 pm Live stats at www.nnusports.com/livestats
Are you a fan?
Keep up with the Crusaders at instagram.com/nnusports or subscribe to NNU Crusader Athletics on www.YouTube.com
Photos by Kari Stetson
Northwest Nazarene’s Kevin Rima looks to toss in 2 points against Central Washington on Saturday. Rima recorded his 14th career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Crusaders complete a season sweep of the Wildcats with a 66-64 victory.
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It was nearly a perfect weekend for the Crusaders at home as the Northwest Nazarene basketball teams won 2-of-3 in front of large, vocal crowds at the Johnson Sports Center. The NNU women began a drive toward the postseason with a win over Alaska, and nearly completed a sweep of the “Last Frontier” teams. The NNU men continued their drive toward a GNAC title by completing a season sweep of Central Washington. MEN’S BASKETBALL: The “Clamp-Down Crusaders” continued to live up to that nickname as for the 6th time in 7 GNAC wins, NNU trailed in the second half before clamping down defensively on a foe to score a comeback win, 66-64 over visiting Central Washington. Down 41-34 just 10 seconds into the second half, the Crusader defense allow just 7 points over the next 11 minutes, turning the game around. Alex Birketoft matched his career high with 16 points, and grabbed 8 rebounds, and Kevin Rima recorded career double-double No. 14 as he had 14 points and 10 boards in the victory. Erik Kinney added 11 points for the Crusaders. (ON TAP) The biggest weekend of the year is here! With a pair of wins, the Crusaders could find themselves in first place in the league standings and wrap up their first playoff berth since 2011. The weekend starts with St. Martin’s (6-15, 3-8 GNAC) visiting on Thursday. A win over the Saints eliminates them from catching NNU for a playoff spot.
ews:
N E W S , N U G G E T S & U P D AT E S February 4, 2015
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Then league-leading and 23rd-ranked Western Oregon (18-3, 10-1 GNAC) visits the Johnson Sports Center in a huge battle — potentially for first place if the Wolves fall Thursday night at Central Washington. Regardless of that outcome, NNU looks to avenge an earlier loss at WOU, a game that slipped away late. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Shaking the heartbreak of last weekend’s 68-66 overtime loss to Central Washington, NNU scored a gutsy 75-74 win over Alaska on Thursday, erasing an early 9-point deficit and holding off a late threat by the Nanooks. Lexi Tubbs had 15 points — including the game-clinching free throw in the final 30 seconds — and 7 rebounds for NNU, while Ellie Logan added 16 points to lead the Crusaders in scoring for the third straight game. Taylor Simmons had 14 points and 4 steals while CoCo Gall and Kate Cryderman each added 10 points in a strong team effort. That teamwork nearly led to a season sweep of No. 3-ranked Alaska Anchorage as the Crusaders led 42-41 at halftime against the visiting Seawolves on Saturday before a 17-2 start to the second half by the GNAC front-runners helped UAA avoid being upset once again by NNU. Cryderman had a career-high 23 points for the Crusaders, while Logan added 21 points and 8 rebounds and Simmons had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. With her 7 steals on the weekend, Simmons moved into a tie for the No. 6 spot all-time at NNU with 220 career steals. The Crusaders junior point guard needs 20 more steals to reach No. 2 all-time and 126 more to catch Photo by Kari Stetson all-time record holder Alysson Kollmann (326 steals). NNU’s Kate Cryderman shoots over an Alaska defender on Thursday. Cry(ON TAP) The road to the postseason truly will be on the road for the derman finished the weekend with 33 points in two games for the Crusaders. NNU women who play 5 of their final 7 games on the road, starting at Simon Fraser and Western Washington this weekend. Two of the league’s powerhouse programs, neither should scare the Crusaders much as NNU already has a win over league-leading Alaska Anchorage on the road (79-64 on Jan. 1). Plus, NNU will be looking to exact some revenge against both after losing to the Clan and the Vikings in Nampa last month. The weekend road trip starts in Canada with the Crusaders taking on a Clan (10-9, 6-5 GNAC) club that has lost 3 straight, giving NNU a chance to close vital ground in the playoff race.
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• Crusader men’s basketball player Kevin Rima is No. 2 in the GNAC in rebounds per game (7.5). • Crusader men’s basketball player Kevin Rima needs 40 points to become the 35th player in NNU’s 82-year history of men’s basketball to score 1,000 career points. • Crusader women’s basketball player Taylor Simmons leads the GNAC and is No. 9 in the nation in steals (3.4) per game. • Chelsey Knott has the top time in the GNAC in the women’s 60-meter hurdles (8.93 seconds). • Payton Lewis has the top height in the GNAC and No. 2 in the nation in the men’s pole vault (16 feet, 9.25 inches), and has the No. 2 score in the GNAC and No. 9 mark in the nation in the men’s heptathlon (5,075 points).
uggets:
N E W S , N U G G E T S & U P D AT E S February 4, 2015
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pdates:
NNU hits the diamonds
Diamond? As in baseball and softball? You bet! The Crusader boys and girls of spring hit the field this coming week to start their 2015 seasons, with the NNU baseball team hosting a 4-game tournament on Friday and Saturday and the NNU softball team traveling to California for a 4-game series against William Jessup on Tuesday and Wednesday. Don’t miss a moment of the action as the Crusader baseball team hosts 4 of the best NAIA teams from around the Northwest. NNU hosts British Columbia at 1 p.m. on Friday, then entertains 16-time NAIA World Series champion Lewis-Clark State at 4:30 that evening. Action resumes on the diamond at noon Saturday with future GNAC foe Concordia at Elmore Vail Field, then its rivalry time as NNU hosts The College of Idaho at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up the weekend.
Join the Crusaders in the fight against cancer
The Crusader women’s basketball team joins the battle against cancer once again on Saturday, February 14, hosting its second annual “Play4Kay” Breast Cancer Awareness night. St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute will be on-hand with information about breast cancer, and the Crusaders will hold a silent auction for a variety of NNU sports memorabilia and gift baskets. Auction items will be available to bid on starting Thursday night, February 12, and the silent auction closes after Saturday’s game. All proceeds go to the “Play4Kay” cancer fund.
Help Crusaders score a hit in Nicaragua
Northwest Nazarene baseball players Kaleb DeHaas and Tate Glasgow need your help in supporting the Nicaraguan Baseball Academy. After spending time in Nicaragua during a mission trip last summer, the Crusader players came up with the plan to donate NNU’s retired batting cage to the Nicaraguan Baseball Academy. “Baseball is how we connected best with them,” Glasgow said. “It was on both of our hearts when we were there that we had to do something for the country by way of baseball and this opportunity fell into our lap.” But to make that opportunity a reality, DeHaas and Glasgow need help. It will cost $4,500 to ship the batting cage to Nicaragua, and the duo are in the midst of a fundraising drive to cover those costs. DeHaas and Glasgow hope to get the batting cage to Nicaragua by late March. Contact Tate Glasgow at [email protected] or by phone at (503) 7808421 to find out how you can help.
Page 3 Women’s Basketball
Team Alaska Anchorage Seattle Pacific Western Wash. Central Wash. Simon Fraser St. Martin’s Alaska MSU Billings NW Nazarene Western Oregon
GNAC OVERALL W L GB W L 10 1 — 20 1 8 3 2 16 3 7 4 3 13 7 6 5 4 11 8 6 5 4 10 9 4 6 5 1/2 7 11 4 7 6 12 9 4 7 6 12 9 3 8 7 5 15 2 8 7 1/2 5 13
• Thursday: Western Oregon at Alaska; Central Wash, at Simon Fraser; St. Martin’s at Alaska Anchorage; NW Nazarene at Western Wash., 8 pm (MT) • Saturday: MSU Billings at Seattle Pacific; St. Martin’s at Alaska; Western Oregon at Alaska Anchorage; Central. at Western Wash.; NW Nazarene at Simon Fraser, 2 pm (MT) D2SIDA Feb. 2 West Region Poll Rank Team Rec. Pts. Prv. 1 Alaska Anchorage (3) (20-1) 30 1 2 Humboldt State (17-2) 27 3 3 Seattle Pacific (16-3) 24 4 4 Cal Poly Pomona (13-5) 21 2 5 Cal State San Bernardino (14-4) 18 5 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills (17-5) 16 7 7 Cal Baptist (17-3) 11 8 8 Hawaii Pacific (17-3) 9 6 9 Western Washington (13-7) 5 9 10 Azusa Pacific (13-7) 2 NR Others receiving votes: Academy of Art, Cal State East Bay
Men’s Basketball
GNAC OVERALL Team W L GB W L Western Oregon 10 1 — 18 3 Seattle Pacific 8 3 2 16 5 Alaska Anchorage 8 3 2 12 9 Central Wash. 7 3 2 1/2 12 5 NW Nazarene 7 3 2 1/2 9 11 Western Wash. 4 7 6 11 10 Simon Fraser 3 8 7 8 11 St. Martin’s 3 8 7 6 15 MSU Billings 2 9 8 4 17 z-Alaska 2 9 8 5 14 z-ineligible for postseason • Thursday: Simon Fraser at MSU Billings; Western Oregon at Central Wash.; Western Wash. at Seattle Pacific; St. Martin’s at NW Nazarene, 7 pm • Saturday: Western Wash. at MSU Billings; Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific; St. Martin’s at Central Wash.; Alaska at Alaska Anchorage; Western Oregon at NW Nazarene, 7 pm D2SIDA Feb. 2 West Region Poll Rank Team Rec. Pts. Prv. 1 BYU Hawaii (6) 17-2 60 3 2 Azusa Pacific 18-3 51 1 3 Western Oregon 18-3 48 4 4 Dixie State 13-6 36 6 5 California Baptist 15-4 35 2 6 Cal Poly Pomona 15-4 28 7 7 Seattle Pacific 16-5 26 5 8 Chico State 14-5 22 9 9 Point Loma 15-5 15 8 10 UC San Diego 12-6 6 RV Others receiving votes: Cal State Stanislaus 2, Alaska Anchorage 1
ON
Contact NNU Sports Information: 467-8474
Follow the Crusaders online: www.nnusports.com
Crusaders cruising
Feb. 19: NNU Men vs Alaska, 7 pm
Upcoming:
Track & Field Day Date Opponent Fri. Sat.
Time
2-6 New Balance Indoor 3 pm at Ford Idaho Center, Nampa, Idaho 2-7 New Balance Indoor 8:45 am at Ford Idaho Center, Nampa, Idaho
Men’s Basketball
Overall (9-11); GNAC (7-3) Day Date Opponent
Time
Thur. 2-5 St. Martin’s Sat. 2-7 Western Oregon
7 pm 7 pm
Women’s Basketball Overall (5-15); GNAC (3-8)
Day Date Opponent
Time
Thur. 2-5 at Western Wash. Sat. 2-7 at Simon Fraser
7 pm 1 pm
Baseball
Overall (0-0); GNAC (0-0) Day Date Opponent
Time
Fri. 2-6 British Columbia Fri. 2-6 Lewis-Clark St. Sat. 2-7 Concordia Sat. 2-7 College of Idaho
1 pm 4:30 pm Noon 3:30 pm
Softball
Overall (0-0); GNAC (0-0) Day Date Opponent
Time
Tue. 2-10 at William Jessup (DH) 1 pm Wed. 2-11 at William Jessup (DH) 1 pm Live stats at www.nnusports.com/livestats
Are you a fan?
Keep up with the Crusaders at instagram.com/nnusports or subscribe to NNU Crusader Athletics on www.YouTube.com
Photos by Kari Stetson
Northwest Nazarene’s Kevin Rima looks to toss in 2 points against Central Washington on Saturday. Rima recorded his 14th career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Crusaders complete a season sweep of the Wildcats with a 66-64 victory.
N
It was nearly a perfect weekend for the Crusaders at home as the Northwest Nazarene basketball teams won 2-of-3 in front of large, vocal crowds at the Johnson Sports Center. The NNU women began a drive toward the postseason with a win over Alaska, and nearly completed a sweep of the “Last Frontier” teams. The NNU men continued their drive toward a GNAC title by completing a season sweep of Central Washington. MEN’S BASKETBALL: The “Clamp-Down Crusaders” continued to live up to that nickname as for the 6th time in 7 GNAC wins, NNU trailed in the second half before clamping down defensively on a foe to score a comeback win, 66-64 over visiting Central Washington. Down 41-34 just 10 seconds into the second half, the Crusader defense allow just 7 points over the next 11 minutes, turning the game around. Alex Birketoft matched his career high with 16 points, and grabbed 8 rebounds, and Kevin Rima recorded career double-double No. 14 as he had 14 points and 10 boards in the victory. Erik Kinney added 11 points for the Crusaders. (ON TAP) The biggest weekend of the year is here! With a pair of wins, the Crusaders could find themselves in first place in the league standings and wrap up their first playoff berth since 2011. The weekend starts with St. Martin’s (6-15, 3-8 GNAC) visiting on Thursday. A win over the Saints eliminates them from catching NNU for a playoff spot.
ews:
N E W S , N U G G E T S & U P D AT E S February 4, 2015
Page 2
N ews continued:
Then league-leading and 23rd-ranked Western Oregon (18-3, 10-1 GNAC) visits the Johnson Sports Center in a huge battle — potentially for first place if the Wolves fall Thursday night at Central Washington. Regardless of that outcome, NNU looks to avenge an earlier loss at WOU, a game that slipped away late. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Shaking the heartbreak of last weekend’s 68-66 overtime loss to Central Washington, NNU scored a gutsy 75-74 win over Alaska on Thursday, erasing an early 9-point deficit and holding off a late threat by the Nanooks. Lexi Tubbs had 15 points — including the game-clinching free throw in the final 30 seconds — and 7 rebounds for NNU, while Ellie Logan added 16 points to lead the Crusaders in scoring for the third straight game. Taylor Simmons had 14 points and 4 steals while CoCo Gall and Kate Cryderman each added 10 points in a strong team effort. That teamwork nearly led to a season sweep of No. 3-ranked Alaska Anchorage as the Crusaders led 42-41 at halftime against the visiting Seawolves on Saturday before a 17-2 start to the second half by the GNAC front-runners helped UAA avoid being upset once again by NNU. Cryderman had a career-high 23 points for the Crusaders, while Logan added 21 points and 8 rebounds and Simmons had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. With her 7 steals on the weekend, Simmons moved into a tie for the No. 6 spot all-time at NNU with 220 career steals. The Crusaders junior point guard needs 20 more steals to reach No. 2 all-time and 126 more to catch Photo by Kari Stetson all-time record holder Alysson Kollmann (326 steals). NNU’s Kate Cryderman shoots over an Alaska defender on Thursday. Cry(ON TAP) The road to the postseason truly will be on the road for the derman finished the weekend with 33 points in two games for the Crusaders. NNU women who play 5 of their final 7 games on the road, starting at Simon Fraser and Western Washington this weekend. Two of the league’s powerhouse programs, neither should scare the Crusaders much as NNU already has a win over league-leading Alaska Anchorage on the road (79-64 on Jan. 1). Plus, NNU will be looking to exact some revenge against both after losing to the Clan and the Vikings in Nampa last month. The weekend road trip starts in Canada with the Crusaders taking on a Clan (10-9, 6-5 GNAC) club that has lost 3 straight, giving NNU a chance to close vital ground in the playoff race.
N
• Crusader men’s basketball player Kevin Rima is No. 2 in the GNAC in rebounds per game (7.5). • Crusader men’s basketball player Kevin Rima needs 40 points to become the 35th player in NNU’s 82-year history of men’s basketball to score 1,000 career points. • Crusader women’s basketball player Taylor Simmons leads the GNAC and is No. 9 in the nation in steals (3.4) per game. • Chelsey Knott has the top time in the GNAC in the women’s 60-meter hurdles (8.93 seconds). • Payton Lewis has the top height in the GNAC and No. 2 in the nation in the men’s pole vault (16 feet, 9.25 inches), and has the No. 2 score in the GNAC and No. 9 mark in the nation in the men’s heptathlon (5,075 points).
uggets:
N E W S , N U G G E T S & U P D AT E S February 4, 2015
U
pdates:
NNU hits the diamonds
Diamond? As in baseball and softball? You bet! The Crusader boys and girls of spring hit the field this coming week to start their 2015 seasons, with the NNU baseball team hosting a 4-game tournament on Friday and Saturday and the NNU softball team traveling to California for a 4-game series against William Jessup on Tuesday and Wednesday. Don’t miss a moment of the action as the Crusader baseball team hosts 4 of the best NAIA teams from around the Northwest. NNU hosts British Columbia at 1 p.m. on Friday, then entertains 16-time NAIA World Series champion Lewis-Clark State at 4:30 that evening. Action resumes on the diamond at noon Saturday with future GNAC foe Concordia at Elmore Vail Field, then its rivalry time as NNU hosts The College of Idaho at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up the weekend.
Join the Crusaders in the fight against cancer
The Crusader women’s basketball team joins the battle against cancer once again on Saturday, February 14, hosting its second annual “Play4Kay” Breast Cancer Awareness night. St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute will be on-hand with information about breast cancer, and the Crusaders will hold a silent auction for a variety of NNU sports memorabilia and gift baskets. Auction items will be available to bid on starting Thursday night, February 12, and the silent auction closes after Saturday’s game. All proceeds go to the “Play4Kay” cancer fund.
Help Crusaders score a hit in Nicaragua
Northwest Nazarene baseball players Kaleb DeHaas and Tate Glasgow need your help in supporting the Nicaraguan Baseball Academy. After spending time in Nicaragua during a mission trip last summer, the Crusader players came up with the plan to donate NNU’s retired batting cage to the Nicaraguan Baseball Academy. “Baseball is how we connected best with them,” Glasgow said. “It was on both of our hearts when we were there that we had to do something for the country by way of baseball and this opportunity fell into our lap.” But to make that opportunity a reality, DeHaas and Glasgow need help. It will cost $4,500 to ship the batting cage to Nicaragua, and the duo are in the midst of a fundraising drive to cover those costs. DeHaas and Glasgow hope to get the batting cage to Nicaragua by late March. Contact Tate Glasgow at [email protected] or by phone at (503) 7808421 to find out how you can help.
Page 3 Women’s Basketball
Team Alaska Anchorage Seattle Pacific Western Wash. Central Wash. Simon Fraser St. Martin’s Alaska MSU Billings NW Nazarene Western Oregon
GNAC OVERALL W L GB W L 10 1 — 20 1 8 3 2 16 3 7 4 3 13 7 6 5 4 11 8 6 5 4 10 9 4 6 5 1/2 7 11 4 7 6 12 9 4 7 6 12 9 3 8 7 5 15 2 8 7 1/2 5 13
• Thursday: Western Oregon at Alaska; Central Wash, at Simon Fraser; St. Martin’s at Alaska Anchorage; NW Nazarene at Western Wash., 8 pm (MT) • Saturday: MSU Billings at Seattle Pacific; St. Martin’s at Alaska; Western Oregon at Alaska Anchorage; Central. at Western Wash.; NW Nazarene at Simon Fraser, 2 pm (MT) D2SIDA Feb. 2 West Region Poll Rank Team Rec. Pts. Prv. 1 Alaska Anchorage (3) (20-1) 30 1 2 Humboldt State (17-2) 27 3 3 Seattle Pacific (16-3) 24 4 4 Cal Poly Pomona (13-5) 21 2 5 Cal State San Bernardino (14-4) 18 5 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills (17-5) 16 7 7 Cal Baptist (17-3) 11 8 8 Hawaii Pacific (17-3) 9 6 9 Western Washington (13-7) 5 9 10 Azusa Pacific (13-7) 2 NR Others receiving votes: Academy of Art, Cal State East Bay
Men’s Basketball
GNAC OVERALL Team W L GB W L Western Oregon 10 1 — 18 3 Seattle Pacific 8 3 2 16 5 Alaska Anchorage 8 3 2 12 9 Central Wash. 7 3 2 1/2 12 5 NW Nazarene 7 3 2 1/2 9 11 Western Wash. 4 7 6 11 10 Simon Fraser 3 8 7 8 11 St. Martin’s 3 8 7 6 15 MSU Billings 2 9 8 4 17 z-Alaska 2 9 8 5 14 z-ineligible for postseason • Thursday: Simon Fraser at MSU Billings; Western Oregon at Central Wash.; Western Wash. at Seattle Pacific; St. Martin’s at NW Nazarene, 7 pm • Saturday: Western Wash. at MSU Billings; Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific; St. Martin’s at Central Wash.; Alaska at Alaska Anchorage; Western Oregon at NW Nazarene, 7 pm D2SIDA Feb. 2 West Region Poll Rank Team Rec. Pts. Prv. 1 BYU Hawaii (6) 17-2 60 3 2 Azusa Pacific 18-3 51 1 3 Western Oregon 18-3 48 4 4 Dixie State 13-6 36 6 5 California Baptist 15-4 35 2 6 Cal Poly Pomona 15-4 28 7 7 Seattle Pacific 16-5 26 5 8 Chico State 14-5 22 9 9 Point Loma 15-5 15 8 10 UC San Diego 12-6 6 RV Others receiving votes: Cal State Stanislaus 2, Alaska Anchorage 1
