FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska men's basketball team will play its third and fourth straight road games this week when it travels to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene for Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups.
The Nanooks (4-15, 1-8 GNAC) first travel to Ellensburg, Wash., to face the Wildcats (9-8, 3-6 GNAC) on Thursday, followed by a Saturday night contest in Nampa, Idaho, against the Crusaders (9-8, 3-6 GNAC).
“Our approach the second time through the league is to be better,” head coach
Mick Durham said. “That's not going to take much to be better with one win the first go-round, but what I mean is for the guys to improve, get the younger guys minutes and seeing the second time around how we compete now that we have a feel for them and they have a feel for us.”
Alaska is currently on a six-game losing skid following a 70-53 defeat at Saint Martin's (Jan. 19) and a 80-67 loss to Western Oregon (Jan. 21).
In Thursday's loss, the Saints trailed by eight at the half, but shot 65-percent in the second half to outscored Alaska by 25 in the final 20 minutes.
Brok Pendleton led four SMU players in double figures with a game-high 22 points. The Nanooks were led by sophomore
Sergej Pucar, who posted a double-double with 17 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
On Saturday, the Wolves used three 11-0 spurts and shot 50-percent from the floor to walk out with a 13-point victory. All five WOU starters recorded double figures and accounting for all but five of the team's points. Sophomore
Stefan Tica drained seven triples to pace Alaska with 27 points.
“Both Sergej and Stefan being sophomore are gaining valuable experience,” Durham said. “They're learning, hanging in there and learning how to compete night in and night out. I'll be curious to see how they do in the second half [of the season]. You have to be determined and tough-minded to compete the second time around, especially this year. I'm really impressed with the GNAC and you must be focused and mentally tough to compete as a player in this league.”
In the GNAC rankings, Tica is the 10th-leading scorer (15.3 ppg) as well as third in three-pointers made (2.7 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), 12th in rebounds (6.2 rpg) and 15th in free throw percentage (.772).
Junior
Dominique Brinson sits seventh in free throw percentage (.804), 13th in steals (1.4 spg) and 14th in three-pointers made (1.8 per game).
Sergej Pucar is also 14th in rebounding (5.7 rpg).
DURHAM ON CWU: “Central year in and year out is probably going to be the most talented team in the league with its athletic ability and style of play. We were fortunate here, played a solid 40 minutes, got into overtime and had the energy at home to win it in overtime.”
DURHAM ON NNU: “They really shoot the three. Obviously we had a tough time with Pillard, who's an undersized center and a little more athletic than our two guys. They isolate him so we have to do a better job on him. They bring a lot of weapons and a lot of depth and at their place, we have to take away the three-pointer.”
Game 20: Alaska (Game Notes) at Central Washington
When: Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Pacific
Where: Ellensburg, Wash. (Nicholson Pavilion)
Live Stats
Audio: KCBF 820 AM
Video: NMTVSports (Free Streaming)
About Central Washington: Located in Ellensburg, Wash., Central Washington University was founded in 1891 and has an enrollment of 10,750 students. The Wildcats enter Thursday with a 9-8 overall record and 3-6 mark in the GNAC. Back on Dec. 31, Alaska rallied for a 91-80 overtime victory in Fairbanks, ending a 10-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
CWU averages 84.9 points per game while limiting its opponents to 80.9 points through 17 games this season. As a team, it shoots 46.1-percent from the floor while the opposition is a tad better at 46.5-percent. The Wildcats hold a slim rebounding edge, with 37.6 rebounds as opposed to 35.7 for their opponents.
Five players score in double figures, led by Lacy Haddock, who tallies 14.8 per game. Other players with 10+ points an outing are Kevin Davis (13.3), Jody Johnson (12.0), Toussaint Tyler (11.4) and Jordan Coby (11.4).
Coach: Greg Sparling (Central Washington '93) is the third-winningest coach in program history as he is in his 17th season at the helm. The five-time conference Coach of the Year has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six seasons and is approaching the 300-win total for his career.
Game 21: Alaska (Game Notes) at Northwest Nazarene
When: Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Mountain
Where: Nampa, Idaho (Johnson Sports Center)
Live Stats
Audio: KCBF 820 AM
Video: NMTVSports (Free Streaming)
About Northwest Nazarene: Located in Nampa, Idaho, Northwest Nazarene University was founded in 1913 and has an enrollment of 1,944 students. The Crusaders enter Thursday's game at UAA with a 9-8 record overall and 3-6 mark in the GNAC. NNU won game one of the series 93-83 back on Dec. 29 in Fairbanks.
NNU averages 77.4 points per game while allowing 74.3 points in its 17 games this season. As a team, it shoots 46.5-percent from the floor, while its opponents shoot 45.6-percent. The Crusaders continue to win the rebounding war by a margin of 34.8 to 30.9.
Three players score in double figures, led by
JB Pillard, who has 15.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Anthony Golden and
Keith Moilanen also score double figures with 15.4 and 11.6 points, respectively.
Coach: Dave Daniels (Colorado Christian '93) is in his first season at the helm of the NNU men's basketball program after spending the previous six seasons at Colorado Christian. He guided his team to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year following the 2007-08 campaign.
