Box Score ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) led a group of four Nanooks in double-digit scoring with 20 points Saturday to help the Alaska men's basketball team earn its first win of the season, defeating Holy Names 72-48 at the AT&T Jamboree, hosted by Alaska Anchorage.
Redshirt senior forward
Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) scored 16, and junior guard
Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) and senior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) poured in 11 each, as Alaska (1-1) concluded play at the AT&T Jamboree with a 1-1 record.
Baker also added six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard
Cody Pierson (Twin Bridges, Mont./General Studies) made the first start of his career and tallied a career-high five assists from the point guard position.
The Hawks (0-3) got 12 points apiece from forward Dante Robinson and reserve guard Blake Watkins. Robinson also had seven rebounds and five assists to lead his team.
Saturday's game was all about the second half for Alaska in what began as a close matchup. Though they won by 24 points, the Nanooks only led by three at halftime, 32-29. Holy Names outshot the Nanooks in the game 37.7 to 36.5 percent, but Alaska outscored the Hawks 40-19 in the second half. The Nanooks went on a 9-0 run in the first 3 minutes, 19 seconds, of the second and a 13-0 run in the final 5:29 to put the game out of reach.
The Nanooks also enjoyed success at the free-throw line Saturday, which ended up making a big difference in the score. Alaska took 20 free-throw attempts in the game to Holy Names' two, making 17 of them. Without those 17 points, Alaska wins by seven points instead of 24. The Hawks were called for 19 personal fouls in the game compared to Alaska's six.
Alaska never surrendered the lead after making the game's first bucket, and the game was never tied. Holy Names got to within one point on three occasions in the first half, but they were answered with a Nanooks 3-pointer each time – twice from Tica, who went 4 for 10 from beyond the arc and once from Baker. The Hawks cut the deficit to one with a basket right out of the gate in the second half, only to see the Nanooks begin their 9-0 run to make it a 10-point game at 41-31.
The Nanooks' preseason tournament slate continues next week when they return home and try to defend their title from a season ago at their own tourney in the 2013 GCI Alaska Invitational. Tournament play begins at 5 p.m. Thursday with a doubleheader. The tournament's first session kicks off with Fresno Pacific taking on Emporia State. Alaska follows at 7 p.m. by playing host to the University of Mary.
