Dec. 28, 2006
Anchorage, AK - The Alaska Nanooks led for all but 18 seconds to take an 85-74 win over Hawaii Hilo at the AT&T Alascom Jamboree at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex Thursday night. After taking an 8-6 lead at the 14:36 mark of the first half, the Nanooks (8-5) built leads as large as 16 against the Vulcans (3-8). Alaska shot 50 percent from the field including 44 percent on three-pointers and dominated the boards (37 to 22) to take out Hilo after a 19-day holiday break.
Kenny Barker (San Diego, CA) led Alaska with 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. The junior guard also grabbed seven boards and dished out five assists. Senior forward Jushay Rockett (Long Beach, CA) tallied a double double with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior point guard Barry Barnes, Jr. (San Diego, CA) put up a nice stat line with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds, while junior guard Mike Titus (Fairbanks, AK) rounded out the double figure scorers with 12 points.
Guard Vince Alvarado and wing Justin Dobson paced the Vulcans with 17 points apiece. Guard Travis Sobers chipped in 12 points for Hawaii Hilo.
The Nanooks edge on the boards was helped by the debut of junior post Steven Sandles (Vallejo, CA). The 6-8 Sandles, who joined Alaska at the break from Contra Costa Community College, came off the bench to score eight points and grab seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of play. Sandles' four offensive boards helped Alaska to a 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass and 14 second chance points.
Alaska will now have 24 hours to prepare for a match-up with No. 19 BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders face host University of Alaska Anchorage in the late game today.
