University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

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Highlights

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Alaska men's basketball team won a tight battle Friday night against Emporia State to set up a championship game Saturday against Fresno Pacific in the 2013 GCI Alaska Invitational with a 67-58 win over the Hornets.
 
Alaska (4-1) led most of the way en route to its fourth straight win, but only held one double-digit lead over Emporia State (4-2) at 41-31 in the second half. It was the second time in as many GCI Alaska Invitational games the Nanooks had to come back from an early 5-0 deficit, this time going on a 16-2 run to go ahead by nine seven minutes into the first half.
 
The victory put Alaska at 2-0 in the tournament, setting up a title game against Fresno Pacific Saturday. The Sunbirds are also 2-0 in the GCI Alaska Invitational after beating Mary in Friday's early game, 67-64.
 
Senior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communications) led three Nanooks in double-digit scoring Friday with 17 points. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Senior forward Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) had 16 points and five boards, and redshirt senior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) poured in 11.
 
Paul Bunch scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and had two blocks for Emporia State. Bunch already holds the single game and tournament records for blocks after six in Thursday's game against Fresno Pacific. He now has a record eight swats in the tournament with one game to play. Micah Swank also chipped in 11 points.
 
The Nanooks faced foul trouble most of the evening, with three starters finishing with four fouls. They shot 75 percent from the line, while the Hornets shot 81 percent.
 
Emporia State responded to Alaska's first half run with a 14-2 run of its own to take a three-point lead at 21-18. That was the last time the Hornets would see a lead in the game as Alaska scored five straight, taking over for good on a 3-pointer from Tica.
 
The Nanooks held a slim 31-28 lead at halftime, but would push the advantage to 10 and force the Hornets to call a timeout just 3:13 into the second half with a 10-3 run.
 
Emporia State wouldn't go away quietly though, whittling down the deficit to just two with a 10-2 run of their own, making it 43-41 with 12:38 to play. The Hornets spread the ball around during their comeback burst, getting points from five different players during the run.
 
But Alaska would pull away again, going on top by seven with three points from senior forward Dallen Bills (Inkom, Idaho/Psychology) and a bucket from Kelly. The Nanooks' lead would not drop below five points after that.
 
The 2013 GCI Alaska Invitational wraps up Saturday with what has played out as a third-place game and a championship game. Emporia State and Mary, both 0-2 in the tournament, will play at 5 p.m. Friday. Alaska and Fresno Pacific tip off at 7 p.m. for the tournament championship.