NNU basketball star follows in father's footsteps

NAMPA, Idaho (CBS2) — A Northwest Nazarene men's basketball player is following in the footsteps of his father, who also has extensive ties to the Treasure Valley.

Ryzin "Biggie" Bergersen, a sophomore guard at NNU, averaged 11 points per game and 3 rebounds per game during the regular season. During the GNAC Championships however, Biggie exploded.

Biggie's stats increased in nearly every category. He averaged 16.7 ppg and 3.7 rebounds per game over a three-game stretch that saw the Nighthawks win their first conference tournament.

His performance in the finals helped him secure Championships MVP. Biggie put up 22 points on 7-10 shooting, 6-7 from three. He also added in 4 rebounds and a steal.

Biggie said that as the Nighthawks advanced through the tournament, they slowly began to realize they had a good shot at winning it all.

"As the game went on, we realized how close we were to a championship," Biggie said. "And once we got to that last game, we really bumped it up, really ramped up our focus. We just went out there and wanted to win."

While the Nighthawks have won a lot at the NAIA level, it's the teams' first major trophy since they made the jump to NCAA DII play in the early 2000s. Biggie spoke on what it meant to win NNU it's first DII title.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a huge deal," Biggie said. "We know how hard it is to win a conference tournament. There's a lot of good teams in our conference. We just wanted to win, and to bring this school their first one in history, it means the world."

Biggie is not the only basketball player in his family however, far from it. Both his brothers have played collegiate basketball; his older brother Rylan played for BYU, Central Arkansas and Eastern Washington. His younger brother Rayzhon is currently a freshman, also on NNU's roster. The brothers also went to Borah High School; Biggie won a state championship in 2020.

The most famous of the Bergersen family however, is their father. Roberto Bergersen played collegiately at Boise State in the late 1990s, winning 1999 Big West Conference Player of the Year.

After a star-studded Broncos career, Roberto was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. Most of his career was spent overseas, but Roberto played a major role in a 2008 Idaho Stampede team that won an NBA D-League Championship. Roberto's jersey still hangs in the rafters at Idaho Central Arena, even after the team left to become a G-League team in Salt Lake City.

Biggie noted that his family is a big reason why he plays, and felt honored to have followed in his father's footsteps, in being a star college player in the Treasure Valley.

"It's been a blessing," Biggie said. "I've seen his success and I've seen his impact around this area... it's nothing that I could've ever dreamed of. It's worth it for sure."

While the Nighthawks did ultimately lose in the first round of the DII national tournament to Point Loma, the team's future is bright according to Biggie.

"Going to the national tournament, we just realize how tough it is," Biggie said. "So, I think (it's important that we're) takingthe necessary steps this offseason to make sure we can get to that level. We just have to put in the work to get to where we want to be."

NNU will resume practices in the next few weeks, and the team will prepare to defend it's GNAC Championship next season.

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