FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska men's basketball team is about to set out on its longest conference road trip of the season as it opens a four-game excursion against Saint Martin's and Western Oregon this week.
The Nanooks (4-13, 1-5 GNAC) first travel to Lacey, Wash., to face the Saints (7-9, 3-4 GNAC) on Thursday, followed by a Saturday matinee in Monmouth, Ore., against the league-leading Wolves (13-3, 6-1 GNAC).
“It's our last two games of the first go-round, so after this week we'll have a feel for everybody in the league,” head coach
Mick Durham said. “We're playing Saint Martin's, which obviously is coming off a real good win at Western Oregon so it has confidence, and then Western Oregon has been leading the league since day one. It's a difficult road trip but what I've seen so far, it seems every game has been a challenge for us.”
Alaska is currently on a four-game losing skid following a 101-81 loss to Western Washington (Jan. 12) and a tough 65-61 defeat to Simon Fraser (Jan. 14), both at home.
In Thursday's loss to WWU,
Richard Woodworth and
Chris Mitchell each had career nights as the duo combined for 45 points and the Vikings shot better than 56-percent in the win. The Nanooks were led by sophomore
Sergej Pucar, who scored a career-high 25 points, while sophomore
Stefan Tica added 20 points.
On Saturday, Alaska led for virtually the entire game, but a late 12-2 run by Simon Fraser lifted the Clan to their first GNAC win of the season.
Jordan Sergent had 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, including seven in the final 74 points to lift SFU to victory. Pucar and Tica again led Alaska's offensive attack with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
“Sergej is getting confidence,” Durham said. “He knows we need scoring from that position and he has the ability to step out and hit the perimeter shot and he's not afraid to do it. He has confidence in his ability offensively and he had a very nice weekend.”
Durham also touched on consistency from the offensive standpoint. “You saw the week before,
Dominique Brinson had a nice weekend,” he said. “The key is consistency where we can have three or four of those guys have weekends like that instead of one guy.”
In the GNAC rankings, sophomore
Stefan Tica ranks 10th in scoring (14.9 ppg) as well as fourth in three-pointers made (2.5 per game).
Senior
Nico Matthews remains atop the conference list in steals (2.6 spg), along with ranking third in assists (4.6 apg), fifth in assist-turnover ratio (1.9), ninth in field goal percentage (.542), 11th in rebounds (6.2 rpg) and 14th in free throw percentage (.772).
Junior
Dominique Brinson sits 10th in free throw percentage (.795), 14th in steals (1.4 spg) and 15th in three-pointers made (1.9 per game).
Sergej Pucar is also 11th in free throw percentage (.782).
DURHAM ON SMU: “The one area they haven't done real well all year is to shoot the three. That's limited their scoring average, but as far as executing, running the offense and getting good shots, they're as good as anybody in the league. Their strength is their 3-4-5 men. Those three inside guys are their leading scorers, so it's more of a two-point type team but a tough team to guard.”
DURHAM ON WOU: “Western Oregon hangs its hat on the defensive end. It presses and wants pressure on the ball at all times if it's in the man or zone. [Blair] Wheadon's numbers might be down a little bit from last year but they have a new coach, a new system and he's trying to fit in. They have some intriguing big men that can step out and shoot the three so you have to handle the pressure, take care of the basketball and have to make sure you control Wheadon, because he's capable of having a very big night.”
Game 18: Alaska (Game Notes) at Saint Martin's
When: Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. Pacific
Where: Lacey, Wash. (Marcus Pavilion)
Audio: KCBF 820 AM
Video: NMTVSports (Free Streaming)
About Saint Martin's: Located in Lacey, Wash., Saint Martin's University was founded in 1895 and has an enrollment of 1,781 students. The Saints enter Thursday with a 7-9 overall record with a 3-4 mark in the GNAC after a very surprising road victory at Western Oregon, 74-65, despite trailing by seven at halftime.
SMU averages 68.8 points per game while allowing 71.4 points through 16 games this season. As a team, it shoots 44.8-percent from the floor, while holding opponents to a tad less at 44.3-percent. The Saints struggle on the boards as opponents win the rebounding war by an average of 38.9 to 31.9.
Three players score in double figures, led by
Jeremy Green, who scores 18.8 points per game. Other double-figure scorers include
Roger O'Neill (13.6 ppg) and
Brok Pendleton (13.5 ppg). Pendleton also leads the team in rebounds (7.6 rpg), while Green is not far behind (7.3 rpg).
Coach: Keith Cooper (Seattle Pacific) is in his ninth season at the helm of the SMU program and has compiled a career record of 103-134 entering this week. He led his teams to back-to-back winning seasons (2008-10) for the first time in 18 years.
Game 19: Alaska (Game Notes) at Western Oregon
When: Saturday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. Pacific
Where: Monmouth, Ore. (New P.E. Building)
Live Stats
Audio: KCBF 820 AM
Video: NMTVSports (Free Streaming)
About Western Oregon: Located in Monmouth, Ore., Western Oregon University was founded in 1856 and has an enrollment of 6,500 students. The Wolves enter the week with a 13-3 overall record and are tied atop the GNAC standings with a 6-1 mark.
WOU averages 71.4 points per game while limiting its opponents to just 64.4 points through 16 games this season. As a team, it shoots 45.9-percent from the floor while holding the opposition to 41.6-percent shooting. The Wolves hold a slim rebounding edge, with 34.2 rebounds as opposed to 31.8 for their opponents.
Blair Wheadon leads three WOU players in double figures with 15.8 points per game. Other double-figure scorers include
Kyle Long (12.5 ppg) and
Kolton Nelson (11.3 ppg).
James Gehring is the team's leading rebounder with 5.4 boards per outing.
Coach: Brady Bergeson (Chapman '00) is in first season at the helm of the WOU men's basketball program after spending the previous three years at Division I's Sacramento State, where he served as the team's offensive coordinator and worked with recruiting and academic development. He was an assistant at Metro State the six years before that, making five NCAA appearances and winning the RMAC title four times.
