Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Senior Colin Matteson (Lynnwood, WA) gave the fans an extraordinary performance in his final game by scoring a season high 25 points, but Saint Martin's balance proved too much for the Blue and Gold as they ran away with a 96-65 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Patty Center.
The Nanooks, as they did on Thursday night, found themselves down big to start the game as the Saints' led 25-8 out of the gates. The conference's leading scorer, Jake Linton, hit three early three's to jumpstart SMU.
Matteson and his brother, Evan, kept Alaska close as they scored the first 13 points for the Nanooks. The Blue and Gold cut Saint Martin's lead from 17 to nine at 29-20, but the Saints opened the lead back up behind 45 percent shooting from the field (16-35 FG) for a 44-28 halftime advantage.
Early second half turnovers allowed SMU to open on an 11-2 run in the opening moments of half two and were able to open up their biggest lead of the game at 55-30.
The Saints lead grew to as man as 36 and they did it with balance. Six different SMU players scored in double-figures led by Linton who had a team high 19 points, but he was not used for the greater part of the second half.
Matteson finished 9-17 from the field and was 6-7 from the free throw line. He finishes his career 24th an Alaska's all-time scoring list with 864 points, and 26th in all-time rebounds with 377.
The Nanooks end the season at 6-19 and 3-13 in conference play. The team will lose Matteson and Begojevic to graduation, but should return a host of players for next season, including the second and third leading scorers in the GNAC this year, Emmanuel Jenkins and Jon Moe.
