Dec. 29, 2007
Final Stats
ANCHORAGE, AK- A slow start doomed Alaska against Ferris State on Saturday, sending the Nanooks home winless from their two-game stay in Anchorage for the AT&T Jamboree. A spirited second-half fightback from the Blue and Gold came up just short, as the Bulldogs held on for a 64-56 win.
Despite trailing by as many as 18 in the game, Alaska (3-6) made the Ferris State bench sweat for much of the second half, playing their best basketball of the tournament to slice the deficit all the way down to just four points with 90 seconds to play. The Nanooks seemed to have gotten a reprieve following a Mladen Begojevic miss, as Lou Williams missed both of his following free throws. Ferris State's Justin Keenan grabbed the offensive rebound, however, and buried both of his subsequent foul shots to put the game out of the Nanooks reach.
Ferris State (4-8) got a double-double from Keenan, who grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with his 15 points. Darryl Nobles and Lou Williams also broke double-digits for the Bulldogs, ending with 15 and 12 points respectively.
Alaska's Mladen Begojevic and Kevin Atkins both hit for a game-high 17 points, while the latter chipped in eight rebounds and four steals as well. Point guard Keven Campbell had a game-high five assists (four coming in the second half) in the loss.
For once, experience seemed on the Nanooks side: ten freshman currently populate the Ferris State roster, four of which trotted out as starters for the Bulldogs tonight. The young team quickly demonstrated what they are capable of, however, frustrating the Nanooks early. Alaska could manage just seven points in the opening ten minutes, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-7 lead.
The Blue and Gold clawed their way back, upping their intensity in what proved to be a physical first half, full of a number of loose ball skirmishes and players mixing it up in the paint. Freshman guard Bobby Pico was particularly impressive, scoring five first-half points and forcing a couple of Bulldog turnovers.
Though FSU headed into the locker room with a comfortable 39-27 advantage, the Nanooks showed they would not go easily in the second half, hanging around through a renewed defensive presence. Alaska held the visitors from Michigan to just 25 second-half points and no three-pointers, after the Bulldogs had drained four of their six shots from behind the arc in the first stanza.
Campbell played a key role down the stretch for Alaska, connecting well with Atkins inside, setting the big Long Beach native up for several easy buckets. Campbell also hit a big three-pointer himself to trim the Bulldog lead to just five before Ferris State managed to close the game out.
The Nanooks now head to Washington, where they prepare for the opening of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference against Saint Martin's on January 3. Alaska returns to the Patty Center on January 17, when they take on Western Washington in GNAC action.
