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Durham Post-Game Press Conference
McDonald and Tica Post-Game Press Conference
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Alaska trailed by only three points at halftime but struggled to score in the second half as Western Oregon was able to walk out with a 60-42 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball victory Thursday night at the Patty Center.
“I thought Western Oregon did a great job in its half-court defense,” head coach
Mick Durham said. “As bad as we shot it, you have to give a lot of credit to Western. It has been playing that zone the last couple games and the last two games, it has held opponents to 48 [points].”
The Wolves improved to 17-7 on the year and 10-5 in conference, while the Nanooks dropped its 13th straight and fell to 4-22 overall and 1-15 in the GNAC.
Two players scored in double figures for WOU, led by
Blair Wheadon, who tallied a team-best 12 points to go with a game-high four assists.
James Gehring also contributed 10 points and six rebounds in the Wolves' third consecutive win.
As a team, they shot 42 percent (22-52) for the game and made 13 of 14 free throws. Despite being outrebounded 19-16 in the first 20 minutes, they only allowed the Nanooks to 10 second-half rebounds and won the war of the boards by a margin of 35-29. They also owned the paint, outscoring the UAF down low, 28-14.
Sophomore
Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Panola) paced the Nanooks with a game-high 17 points and junior
Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/College of the Redwoods) tallied 10 points, while junior
Carthal McDonald (Los Angeles, Calif./Compton CC) added nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Alaska shot just shy of 29-percent (14-49) from the floor and attempted 30 three-pointers, making just six (.200). It only got to the free throw line eight times, all in the second half, and converted on each try.
“We've had a great first half for the last I don't know how many games,” Tica said. “In the second half, something just changes. We need to have that great game in the first half and transfer it to the second half.”
Neither team led by more than four points in the first half that included one tie and six lead changes, but Western Oregon scored the final five points of the frame to take a 23-20 lead into the locker room.
After a pair of free throws by Tica to trim the lead to one early in the second, a Gehring jumper sparked a 13-0 run that spanned 6:12 and the Wolves held the Nanooks scoreless for nearly seven minutes.
“We all were frustrated,” McDonald said. “We lived by the three and died by the three tonight because we kept forcing shots when we should've gone to the hole.”
The draught ended with a trey by Tica with 12:15 to go in the second, but WOU answered with another large run, this time a 14-0 surge to build a 50-25 lead with 7:22 to play. It was another large draught for Alaska, as it was held scoreless for another 5:08 until Brinson drained a long-range jumper. The Nanooks never came closer than 18 down the stretch.
They return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. when they play host to Saint Martin's. SMU lost 81-59 on the road earlier Thursday at 21st-ranked Alaska Anchorage.
