Jan. 20, 2007
Box Score
By Matias Saari
Staff Writer
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Published January 21, 2007
Peruse the Alaska Nanooks' box score from Saturday and one wonders how they lost the game.
It reveals 54 percent shooting from the field, 80 percent from the free throw line, a 35-21 rebounding advantage and three Nanooks scoring 19 or more points.
Then the determining factor in Alaska's 89-84 loss at conference-leading Saint Martin's jumps out: 19 turnovers committed to only seven for the Saints.
"We can't take care of the basketball," said a dejected Alaska coach Frank Ostanik by telephone from Lacey, Wash. "Our experienced players turned it over, our new players turned it over, our point guard turned it over."
Four of those turnovers -- all coughed up by tri-captains Kenny Barker, Mike Titus and Barry Barnes -- came at the worst time, during a decisive 17-2 Saint Martin's run that turned a 10-point Alaska advantage with eight minutes remaining into an 80-75 Saints' lead less than five minutes later.
"We could not stop them from scoring," said Ostanik, whose team slipped to 11-8 overall and 2-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. "We just couldn't handle their pressure. Their zone was very active."
The Nanooks were still alive, down 87-84 with 47 seconds remaining, when they opted to defend the Saints instead of fouling them. The strategy nearly worked, as Jake Linton, who led all players with 25 points and 10 assists, missed a jumper with 16 seconds left.
"We could not get a rebound and that was it," said Ostanik.
Saints center Trevor Dunston secured the board and returned the ball to Linton, who was fouled and iced the contest with a pair of foul shots.
The Saints, now undefeated in five conference games, are the surprise GNAC leaders despite just an 8-8 overall record. In a preseason poll, Saint Martin's was picked sixth in the nine-team league.
Instead of a coveted road split, Alaska was swept in its first GNAC trip of the season. And the Nanooks' upcoming schedule does them no favors: they make the long trip home today, attend classes Monday and Tuesday and head back to the Northwest on Wednesday for games at Seattle University and Western Washington.
For every positive in Saturday's box score, there was a corresponding negative. Barker scored 24 points, but committed six turnovers and fouled out; Titus drained 21 but had an untimely turnover; the reliable Jushay Rockett had 19 points and eight rebounds but did not shoot during the Saints' big run; Barnes had six assists, but foul trouble and inconsistent play limited him to 20 minutes of playing time; starting forward Colin Matteson managed only one more point (three) than turnovers in 31 minutes.
And the Nanooks' offensive production was offset by a defense that allowed the Saints to shoot 53 percent for the game and 61 percent in the second half.
Ostanik said the Nanooks could have scored 100 points had they take better care of the basketball.
"It's not about scoring all the time, it's about making the little plays that win you games," said Ostanik.
Ostanik may have faulted his team's lack of execution but he didn't question their effort.
"Obviously we're down right now, we're disappointed," he said. "We have that sickness in our stomach."
