Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - It was a tale of two halves for the Nanooks on Thursday night as a promising first half slipped away in the second 20 minutes and saw Seattle Pacific leave Fairbanks with a 96-87 victory.
The Nanooks came flying out of the gates as sophomore Nashorn Maynard scored six of his 10 points in the first minute and a half to kick start the Blue and Gold. Alaska made 13 of their first 19 shots and held a 31-15 lead just eight minutes into the game.
However, Seattle Pacific would weather the storm and fight their way back into the game. The Falcons stayed close behind 52 percent shooting from the floor and 14 points from Rafael Moreira to lead all scorers at the half.
Alaska though, shot a season high 55 percent in the first half and took a 52-49 lead into the halftime break.
Emmanuel Jenkins paced the Blue and Gold with 12 points and also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three helpers. Tony Wilson provided a spark off the bench with eight points in only eight minutes, and Jon Moe had 13 points on 4-6 from three point land.
The Nanooks would come out of the locker room cold to start the second stanza and saw SPU capitalize with a 9-0 run, and in the process took the lead for good. The Falcons did their damage in the second half from behind the arc making 6-10 from deep. They were 11-20 for the game.
While SPU stayed consistent in the second half as they shot 56 percent, Alaska went the other way and shot just 35 percent (11-31 FG). The Blue and Gold made only two of their 10 threes after the break, but Jon Moe’s triple from the parking lot cut the Falcons' lead to just five with a minute and a half to go.
However, the Falcons would ice the game from the free throw line and leave Fairbanks with a 96-87 GNAC victory.
Moe (5-10 3FG), and Jenkins (9-21 FG), finished tied for a game high with 24 points but SPU’s balance was too much as they had six players score in double figures.
Alaska drops to 5-12 (2-6 GNAC) and hosts the GNAC's top-ranked team in Western Washington on Saturday night. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Patty Center.
