Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK - The Alaska Nanooks narrowly miss upsetting Western Washington, falling 82-71 in the GNAC tilt Saturday night at the Patty Center.
Nashorn Maynard (Saint Paul's, Saint Kitts) set another career-high with 30 points after a 29 point performance on Thursday.
The first half of the contest was a back and forth affair with five ties and five lead changes as the largest lead either team gained would be seven.
After surrendering the first basket of the game the Nanooks turned to
Emmanuel Jenkins (Tacoma, WA) to get their offense going. After Maynard tied the game at two, Jenkins hit back-to-back three's to give Alaska an 8-4 lead.
After Western Washington tied the score at 37 with 4:27 left on the clock the Nanooks reeled off seven straight points which was highlighted by two Maynard baskets and a
Cole Daniel (Fairbanks, AK) thee-point basket.
Alaska kept the momentum and went into the half with a 44-39 lead. In the first 20 minutes of play Alaska dominated inside as they scored 26 points in the paint and out rebounded the Vikings 18-13. Alaska also had an astounding 13 offensive rebounds and only turned the basketball over two times.
Maynard led all scorers at the break with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds, all on the offensive glass. Alaska also capitalized with 12 points off 10 Western Washington turnovers.
Not to be outdone, the Vikings shot a red hot 64% (14-of-22) from the field, also going 6-of-9 from downtown. Derrick Webb carried the Viking offense with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, all his made shots coming from behind the arc.
Western Washington came out after the half and quickly tied the contest up. A Zach Bruce lay up three minutes into the half cut the Nanooks lead to only one and two minutes later the Vikings tied the score with an Andrew Ready three-pointer.
The Nanooks fought back and retook a five point lead after a Jenkins three-pointer, but Morris Anderson answered right back with a three-of his own to keep it at a one possession game.
Alaska got down and dirty and scored the next two baskets to push the lead to six. Bo Edwards drove the lane and scored with a spin move then Maynard tipped the ball away from a Vikings player, saved it from going out of bounce to
Clayton Edwin (Fairbanks, AK) who found
Joe Powell (Englewood, NJ) for the finish. Undeterred, Anderson again and coolly hit another three to cut the lead in half.
With the game tied for an eighth time the Vikings went on an 8-0 run, which included three's by Harold McAllister and Anderson to give Western Washington some breathing room. The Vikings hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Nanooks.
Alaska finished the game shooting 41% (28-of-68) and was led by Maynard with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Maynard was a force on the glass grabbing 12 rebounds with 11 of them on the offensive glass. Jenkins scored 14 and
Joe Powell scored 11 for the Nanooks in the loss.
Alaska scored 42 points in the paint and also grabbed 22 offensive rebounds as the Nanooks out rebounded the Vikings 37-34.
Western Washington was led by Anderson who scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, all from behind the arc. Webb scored 18 and Blanche chipped in 12 points.
The Nanooks will return to action when they look to break their six game losing streak when they travel to Saint Martin's for a GNAC contest. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. AKT.
