Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK – Northwest Nazarene used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Alaska 86-70 on Thursday night in Nampa, ID. The Crusaders used a late first half run to gain the advantage to their eventual win.
Alaska and Northwest Nazarene battled back and forth for much of the first half, which saw the Nanooks take a one-point lead with 8:42 remaining. From that point Northwest Nazarene went on a 22-9 run to close out play and go into the break with a 46-33 advantage.
Jon Moe (Granite Falls, Washington) led the Nanooks into the half with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting with
Emmanuel Jenkins (Tacoma, WA) scoring nine points. Alaska shot 33% (12-of-33) from the field and held a 21-19 rebounding advantage.
Eight Crusades scored in the first half led by Brian Barkdoll's 10 points. Kendall Gielow grabbed seven rebounds and added nine points for the host. Northwest Nazarene hit 20 field goals in the half and shot close to 59% from the field.
The Nanooks were able to close the gap to nine at the midpoint of the second half but could not get any closer. Up 12, the Crusaders went in a 16-7 run to push their lead to 21, and put the game out of reach.
Alaska finished the game shooting 38% (26-of-69) from the field and was led by three players in double-figures. Jenkins was the top point getter with 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while
Nashorn Maynard (Saint Paul's, Saint Kitts) and Moe each tallied 15 points in the loss.
The Crusaders had five players score in double-figures led by Barkdoll and Gielow who each had 16 points. Drew Eisinger (13), David Reeher (10) and Jamie Eisinger (10) also scored in double-figures in the win. Gielow also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Northwest Nazarene shot a scorching 57% (34-of-60) from the field and scored 24 points off 18 Alaska turnovers.
Alaska will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Seattle, WA to take on Seattle Pacific in a GNAC tilt. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. AST.
