Jan. 18, 2007
Monmouth, OR - The fast-pace Alaska Nanooks offense was slowed by Western Oregon in a 79-64 loss on Thursday night at the Physical Education Building. The Wolves held the Nanooks, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top-scoring offense, to 17 points under its average and just 30 percent from the floor in the loss.
Alaska (11-7 overall, 2-2 GNAC) was averaging a GNAC-best 81 points a game entering the contest but struggled from the field in their first non-neutral site road game. The Nanooks shot hit only 3-of-16 three-point attempts.
The Wolves (6-10, 1-4) used a balanced attack and got some key contributions off the bench. Center Jacob Mitchell led the Wolves with 19 points and eight boards, while point guard Alex Swerzbin added 17 but WOU's 29 bench points may have decided the contest. Forward Travis Kuhns had 12 points and six boards and guard Brad Krichevsky added nine off the pine.
Senior forward Jushay Rockett (Long Beach, CA), the GNAC's leading scorer, had 20 points and 12 boards to lead the Nanooks. Mike Titus (Fairbanks, AK) rounded out the double figure scorers with 12 points.
The Nanooks trailed by as many as 11 in the first half before making a run heading into the intermission. Down 32-22 with 4:01 left, Alaska mounted an 8-1 spurt including the last five by Barry Barnes Jr. (Long Beach, CA). The point guard nailed a three with 21 seconds left and then made a lay-up at the buzzer after Alaska forced a Wolves turnover.
Alaska tied the game early in the second half and took a brief lead but the Wolves quickly regained their margin with a 9-0 run. With the lead down the stretch, WOU converted free throws, including 8-8 late in the game from Swerzbin.
The Nanooks now head to Lacey, WA to face Saint Martin's on Saturday night.
