Jan. 12, 2008
Final Stats
ANCHORAGE, AK- The Seawolves struck first blood in the battle for college basketball supremacy in the state of Alaska, running out deserved winners in a hotly-fought contest, 77-57. The Nanooks stretched No. 19 Anchorage to their limit, however, controlling the early going of the contest before finally being worn down by the Seawolves.
Alaska (4-8, 1-2 GNAC) spent much of the game trying to slow down the fast pace of the high-flying Seawolves. Once Anchorage, in particular point guard Luke Cooper found top gear, however, there was no getting them out of it. Cooper dished out 15 assists, leading the home side to 44 second-half points to put the contest out of Alaska's reach.
Co-captains Colin Matteson and Mike Titus led the way for the Nanooks, putting in 19 and 14 points respectively. Mladen Begojevic also had eight points for the Blue and Gold before being forced to sit out much of the second half due to injury, taking away one of Alaska's major scoring threats.
Anchorage's McCade Olsen led all scorers with 26 points, leading the Seawolves (12-3, 3-0 GNAC) as they shot a blistering 65 percent in the second-half.
Despite being on hostile grounds, the Nanooks found themselves in control for much of the first half. After shaking off some early jitters, Alaska begin to assert themselves, thanks in large part to the insertion of Begojevic, who was a gametime decision due to a sore back. Along with Matteson, the Serbian provided a hot hand, offering six early points to boost the Nanooks to a 15-10 lead.
While Alaska was getting points from outside, however, the Seawolves were getting theirs from inside the paint. Cooper found Cameron Burney and Olsen for easy lay-ins to keep Anchorage close.
The Seawolves, however, suffered a setback when their leading scorer Carl Arts had to be helped off the court after falling hard in a collision with the Nanooks Kevin Atkins. With Arts on the sidelines, the Nanooks stretched their lead to 22-14, following a pull-up jumper from the impressive Bobby Pico.
Anchorage would make a late run, however, as the Nanooks went cold late in the half, enabling the Seawolves to steal into the locker room with a 33-30 halftime lead behind a three-pointer from Bryant and a dunk from Olsen following a turnover.
From there, however, the Seawolves would never trail again, as they hit the ground running after the break. Chris Bryant buried two quick three-pointers, and Arts began to make his presence felt, linking up well with Cooper for seven second-half points.
The Nanooks, meanwhile, could not relocate their shooting touch after halftime, making just three of their 11 three-point shots after shooting 5-for-7 in the first stanza.
Alaska now returns to the Patty Center for their first home game since Nov. 18, as they take on Western Washington on Thursday, Jan. 17, tipping off at 7:30 p.m.
