Feb. 27, 2007
Box Score
Nampa, ID - The Alaska Nanooks Great Northwest Athletic Conference title chances ended with a 77-67 loss to Northwest Nazarene Tuesday night. The double-digit setback also put a dark cloud over the possibility of an NCAA postseason bid for the Nanooks (17-12, 8-7 GNAC).
Junior guards Barry Barnes, Jr. (Long Beach, CA) and Mike Titus (Fairbanks, AK) led the way with 17 points each and Kenny Barker (San Diego, CA) had 14 points in the loss. Senior Jushay Rockett, the Nanooks leading scorer and rebounder, had 10 points and seven rebounds, all in the second half after sitting nearly the entire first due to foul trouble.
Northwest Nazarene (10-16, 5-10) took care of the ball (just seven turnovers) and shot well from the field (52 percent) and from the line (15-of-15) to upset Alaska. Senior guard Tim Ireland scored a game-high 25 points and freshman Kendall Gielow added 19 points for NNU. Forward Louie Beech rounded out the double figure scoring with 11 off the bench.
Alaska made four of its first five shots including three three-pointers to jump to an early lead. But Rockett picked up his second foul just 3:18 into the game and Northwest Nazarene chipped at the lead. They eventually took a 35-33 lead into halftime despite 54.5 percent shooting by Alaska and 12 points from Titus.
The Crusaders never relinquished the lead in the second half. A jumper by Jason Simmons gave NNU a nine-point advantage with 5:12 left in the game but the Nanooks answered with a Barnes lay up and a Barker jumper to cut it to 66-61 with 2:30 to go.
On the next NNU possession, Simmons nailed a triple to put the game out of reach for Alaska. The Crusaders made all eight of their free throws in the final minute to ice the game.
The Nanooks still have a slim chance for an NCAA bid but must beat arch-rival the University of Alaska Anchorage and have other contenders drop their final games. Alaska and UAA will battle at the Patty Center Saturday at 7:00 p.m. AST, as the Nanooks celebrate Senior Night for Rockett.
