NAMPA, Idaho -- Tru Allen topped four double-figure scorers with 17 points Thursday for Northwest Nazarene, which raced ahead early en route to a convincing 90-57 win over the Seattle Pacific men in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball game at the Johnson Sports Center.
 
NNU rode stellar 55-percent accuracy (35 of 64) on the offensive end and a defense that generated 23 points off turnovers while limiting the Falcons to 30 percent shooting (17 of 56). The visitors made just 5 of 27 shots from 3-point range while the Nighthawks nailed 7 of 19 treys.
 
The SPU men (14-11) lost back-to-back games for just the third time this season and saw its conference record leveled at 7-7. Their record in road games dropped to 2-6, in stark contrast to a 9-3 home mark.
 
The 33-point final margin marked the Falcons largest margin of defeat since Coach Grant Leep's first season, in 2016-17. SPU suffered an 85-49 setback at Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 29, 2016.
 
Northwest Nazarene (11-8) continued its recent hot streak, winning for the sixth time in the last seven outings. Its second-place position was solidified with a league ledger that now stands at 9-5.
 
Thursday's result avenged a loss in this season's first matchup, won 68-67 in overtime by SPU on Dec. 4 in Seattle.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
Harry Cavell was one of only two Falcons to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, hitting 6 of 11 shots, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. He topped the team with 18 points, 12 of them coming in the first half, and six rebounds.
 
Divant'e Moffitt took over SPU's scoring mantle in the second half, producing 13 of his 17 points after intermission. He was limited to 7-1/2 first-half minutes due to a fall.

DIVANT'E MOFFITT DRIVING BASKET

Sparking Allen's 7-for-11 effort from the floor for NNU was 3-for-5 accuracy on treys.
 
James Nelson and Gabriel Murphy each pitched in 16 points for the Nighthawks, who also got 15 from George Reidy. Christian Rose tallied seven points and his game-high 12 rebounds fueled NNU's 48-28 domination of the boards.
 
FIRST-HALF SURGE
NNU opened a quick 5-2 edge before Moffitt netted points on consecutive trips down the floor to even the score, 5-5.
 
The Nighthawks netted the next five points to begin a 22-9 surge. Reidy ignited the run with a dunk at 15:53 and Kobe Terashima capped it with a spinning jumper in the lane to produce a 27-11 advantage with 8:13 left in the first half. Terashima finished the game with seven assists to lead all players.
 
Making that stretch even more harmful to the Falcons was that Moffitt, their leading scorer and assist-man on the season, went down with 12:41 showing on the clock after missing a lofting bank shot on a drive down the right side of the lane. He toppled to the floor, slamming the back of his head on the court.
 
Play continued as NNU raced down the floor playing 5-on-4 and Allen made a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to put the hosts ahead 18-9.
 
The referees finally saw Moffitt down on the other end of the court and stopped play, enabling the athletic trainer to tend to his head injury. Moffitt left the floor at 12:28 and did not return until the start of the second half.
 
Five straight points from Nelson prevented SPU from sustaining a rally and Allen beat the shot clock with a mid-range jumper from the right baseline to set the halftime score at 41-23 in favor of the Nighthawks.
 
Half of NNU's first-period shots went in (17 of 34) while the Falcons scuffled at 28 percent (7 of 25). A major reason for the disparity was the hosts' 24-6 advantage on points in the paint.
 
SYON BLACKMON JUMPER

LEAD STRETCHES IN SECOND HALF
Murphy made a layup 43 seconds into the second half for NNU, which never allowed the Falcons to get closer than the 18-point first-half margin.
 
After a Reidy layup and Allen 3-pointer put the Nighthawks ahead 48-25 with 18:46 left to play, the teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes. During that span, SPU reserve forward Jacob Medjo drained a pair of jumpers. He hit a 3-pointer from the left corner at 10:14 and then made a two-pointer at 8:18 to account for his entire five-point total.
 
NNU then began to broaden its lead, first with six unanswered points to forge a 69-40 bulge with 11:01 remaining.
 
An 11-2 run, capped by a trey from Nelson, stretched the lead to 86-51. That was the largest deficit faced all season by SPU, which had never trailed by more than 18 points versus any previous opponent.
 
FALCONS FAST FACT
• Divant'e Moffitt increased his career total to 1,400 points to vault into the No. 8 position among SPU career scorers. He moved ahead of Brannon Stone, whose 1,394 points accumulated from 1998-2002 now rank No. 9 all-time for the Falcons.
 
• Moffitt moved right behind teammate Harry Cavell on SPU's career scoring chart, but trails him by 82 points. Cavell ranks No. 7 among all-time Falcons with 1,482 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons complete their regular-season schedule on Saturday in Ellensburg, Wash. They clash with Central Washington at 6:15 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats were 68-65 victors over SPU on Dec. 2 in Seattle, the GNAC opener for both teams.
 
RECORDS
Seattle Pacific 14-11, 7-7 GNAC
Northwest Nazarene 11-8, 9-5 GNAC
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Saturday, February 26; 6:15 p.m. PST
Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.