Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. - Alaska shot 70 percent in the second half and outscored Montana State Billings 19-9 over the final 3:51 to earn its first road win at Alterowitz Gymnasium in almost three years with a 79-70 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball triumph on Saturday night.
The Nanooks (8-5, 3-2 GNAC) trailed 61-60 after the Yellowjackets (7-7, 3-3 GNAC) hit a layup with 4:17 remaining. The 'Nooks responded by scoring 19 of the game's next 24 points to gain their first win in Billings since Feb. 3, 2011 – a 70-68 victory.
Senior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) had a lay-in with 3:51 left to spark the run and senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give Alaska a 65-61 advantage.
After a MSUB bucket, junior guard
Joe Slocum (San Francisco, Calif./Communication) and Pucar came right back with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Nanooks a 71-63 lead with 2:03 to go.
Over the final 1:25, Alaska put the game away by knocking down all eight free-throw attempts, as it led by as many as 13 in the closing minute.
Baker led four Nanooks in double figures with a team-best 18 points to go with a career-high seven assists, as well as four steals, tying his career high. Pucar also had 16 points and tied a career-high by hitting four treys. Both Baker and Pucar scored a combined 24 of their 34 points in the second half.
Senior forward
Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) chipped in 15 points while Slocum added 11 points.
Alaska shot an astounding 70 percent (14-20) and two-thirds of its 3-point attempts (6-9) over the final 20 minutes to finish the game 56 percent (28-50) from the floor and nearly 53 percent (10-19) from beyond the arc.
MSUB shot 46 percent (26-57) on the night and also hit 40 percent (10-25) of its 3-point attempts. The 'Jackets were led by
Austin Hudson, who tallied a game-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds.
Jonathan Mesghna had 17 points while
Kalob Hatcher was the other double-figure scorer with 16.
Alaska outscored Billings 16-9 off turnovers and 15-7 on second-chance opportunities in the win.
The Nanooks return home next week to host a pair of GNAC games with Central Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Patty Center.
