The first time the Alaska men's basketball team (8-15, 5-11 GNAC) got a look at Saint Martin's (14-12, 7-9 GNAC), it was at home. Parrish West set the Alaska single game record with 43 points, and the Nanooks walked away with a three-point overtime win.
Saturday ended a bit different in Lacey, Wash., as the Saints topped the Nanooks by ten at 79-69. West was held to just 22 points.
The other tale of the first game was SMU's Blake Poole, who leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in rebounding and ranks right behind West in scoring. Poole earned double-doubles for himself in both games against Alaska, including 23 points and 12 rebounds Saturday.
The Nanooks got down by as much as 13 points late in the first half before bouncing back and cutting the deficit to two points with 17:55 to play in the second half at 43-41.
They opened the second half with an 11-2 run led by a pair of layups from Brett Barkman. It would be the closest the team would get to gaining control.
Aaron Kohring had a decent outing with 15 points. Nico Matthews was close behind with 12 points of his own.
Barkman finished the game with 11 rebounds—all on the defensive side of the court.
The Nanooks have two games to play—both against Alaska Anchorage. They host the Seawolves Tuesday at 7 p.m. before heading south to Anchorage for the final game the next night.
