Nov. 2, 2007
Final Stats
FAIRBANKS, AK- Head coach Clemon Johnson's first game in charge of the Alaska Nanooks went according to plan, as the Blue and Gold rode a high-octane performance, solid three-point shooting, and 25 points from Colin Matteson to a convincing 110-84 victory over Simpson University.
While Nanooks fans were greeted with a host of new faces on the Alaska bench, it was a familiar one, Matteson, that stole the show. He shot 11 of 16 from the floor, and looked unstoppable at times, scoring 11 straight points (including a three-point play and two three-pointers on consecutive trips) at one point.
Sophomore Kevin Atkins, fresh off of a 20-point performance in last Saturday's exhibition against the Alumni, also grabbed a double-double for the Nanooks, putting in 13 points to go with 10 boards.
Afterwards, Johnson was pleased with his team's effort. "We did very well offensively, as I knew we would," he said. "Maybe we gave away too many offensive rebounds, but that's something we will just have to work on as a team. We are a very strong offensive team, but I think we did some great things on the defensive end tonight as well."
Despite working to shake off some first-game rust, the Nanooks looked sharp early, as they opened up an early 21-14 lead. Phillippe Jourdain found Mladen Begojevic with a smart pass, gifting the Serbian native an easy layup. Begojevic then returned the favor, driving through the lane before dishing to Jason Simmons, who gladly dunked home his first two points as a Nanook.
But the Redhawks somehow kept finding a way to claw their way back, shooting over 57 percent from the floor themselves. A three-pointer from Markise Morrison from the corner brought the scores level at 40-40 with just under four minutes to play in the half.
From there, however, it was all Nanooks, as the Blue and Gold closed the half with a 12-4 run. A spinning lay-up by Colin Matteson from the baseline and a steal and subsequent three from Keven Campbell helped the Nanooks go into the break with their biggest lead of the half, 52-44.
The intermission did not seem to faze the Nanooks at all, as they picked up exactly where they left off. Within ten seconds of the restart, Mike Titus had produced a steal and a lay-up, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Alaska upped their energy level on both ends of the floor, pushing up the floor on offense and pressuring every Simpson ball handler on defense. The Redhawks simply could not keep pace, and they shot just 39 percent in the second half.
"Coach called timeout, and told us we need to pick it up: we were giving away too much penetration and too many easy shots," said Matteson. "We really turned it around at the end of the first half and into the second."
While Simpson went cold, Alaska was firing on all cylinders, shooting a whopping 63.6 percent (7-11) from behind the arc in the second half. Fittingly, back-to-back three-pointers from Begojevic and Campbell put the game beyond all doubt, as the Nanooks had the luxury of resting their starters for much of the second half.
All told, four Alaska players finished in double-figures, with DeRay Carger (17) and Titus (13) joining Matteson and Atkins. Walk-on Bo Edwards also rang up eight points, including two three-pointers in just eight minutes on the court.
For the Redhawks, sophomore Jason Washington ended with 17 points, while guard Markise Morrison also had 10. Senior forward Alex Nixon pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in a losing cause.
The Nanooks and the Redhawks now face a quick turnaround, as the same two teams meet again at the Patty Center on Saturday. Tip-off in that game is expected at 3:00 p.m.
