Nanook Men's BB Team Defeats WOU, 79-71
MONMOUTH, OR-The University of Alaska Fairbanks' men's basketball team tightened up their defense in the first half of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at Western Oregon Thursday evening.
The Nanooks limited WOU to seven field goals and 20 points in the first half, led 30-20 at intermission, and went on to a 79-71 victory that moved them a step closer to their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
UAF used three baskets by junior forward Ivan Miskovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Monroe Catholic HS) and a jumper and a pair of three-pointers by senior guard Brad Oleson (North Pole, AK/North Pole HS/Peninsula College) to take an early 17-6 lead. The Wolves replied with a 14-5 run to cut the lead to 22-20 with 3:25 remaining in the first half. But the Nanooks scored the final eight points of the half. Miskovic hit a layup, junior forward Justin Bourne (Fairbanks, AK/Lathrop HS) connected on a jumper, and freshman guard
Chris Jordan (Houston, TX/Milby HS) scored twice in the final 47 seconds as the Nanooks led by 10 at halftime.
A 7-3 run at the outset of the second half allowed UAF to build a 14-point advantage. After WOU cut the lead to 11, the Nanooks outscored the Wolves, 12-4 midway through the second half to take a 62-43 lead with 6:23 remaining.
Western Oregon fought back and got to within five points, but UAF hit seven free throws in the final 48 seconds to seal the verdict.
"We really controlled the game," said UAF Head Coach Frank Ostanik. "We played very hard, and we played very well defensively. We executed our plays, Brad played very well offensively, and even though we went through a stretch in the first half where we couldn't score for five minutes, we figured it out. They scored a lot of their points in the last five minutes."
The Nanooks made 72.7 per cent of their shots in the second half, and finished the game making 60.9 per cent of their field goals.
Oleson led UAF with 28 points, making nine of 12 shots from the field and adding four assists. Miskovic added 13 points, making six of seven shots from the field, while Jordan and junior forward Andrew Smith (Anchorage, AK/Bartlett HS) each scored 10.
Kevin Tyner of the Wolves led all scorers with 31 points. Dave Brautigam added 13 points, and Evan Kieling contributed 10.
With the victory, UAF improved to 18-8, 12-5 in GNAC play. WOU lost at home for only the third time in 12 games, and fell to 15-11 and 9-8. The Nanooks will complete their road trip when they visit Humboldt State Saturday evening. The game can be heard on KCBF Radio-820 at 7:00 p.m. Alaska Time.
-UAF BASKETBALL-
