For the second straight game, the UAA men's basketball team took a team into overtime on the road. And for the second straight game, the Seawolves lost by a single point.
Northwest Nazarene nipped the Seawolves 79-78 Saturday night in Nampa, Idaho, a setback that came two nights after UAA lost 72-71 in overtime at Central Washington.
It was the fourth straight loss — and the fourth straight close call — for UAA (7-0 overall, 3-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference). The losses have come by a combined 10 points.
The Nighthawks (8-6, 4-4) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to tie the game 73-73 on Jayden Bezzant's basket just before the buzzer marking the end of regulation.
Brian Pearson, a 6-foot-9 center who has emerged as a top player for the Seawolves, gave his team a chance for a game-winning basket near the end of overtime when he blocked Bezzant at the rim with just seconds remaining.
Pearson got the rebound and the Seawolves called a timeout with three seconds left. Freshman guard Brennan Rymer took the inbounds pass for UAA and was driving to the hoop when Northwest Nazarene's Sam Roth stripped him of the ball just before the buzzer.
Pearson secured his first career double-double while registering three career-bests — 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting,10 rebounds and six blocks.
Malik Clements also recorded a career-best scoring night with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
"Brian had a phenomenal effort, and Malik had a nice game," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said in a press release. "But again we had turnovers late and we did not hit our free throws to put the game away."
One of UAA's 15 turnovers came near the end of overtime, setting up the Bezzant shot that Pearson blocked.
The Seawolves were 11 of 17 at the foul line, including 3 of 11 in the second half.
The Nighthawks got big games from Bezzant and Obi Megwa. Bezzant scored 25 points on 12-of-25 shooting and Megwa poured in 27 on 12-of-19 shooting.
Both teams shot 51 percent from the field, with Pearson and Clements leading the way in accuracy.
"We shot the ball well but we allowed it to affect our defensive intensity," Osborne said. "Instead of grinding on the defensive end, we got lackadaisical."
UAA returns home for a Thursday conference game against Simon Fraser.