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Press Conference
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Alaska men's basketball team reminded No. 15 Western Washington Saturday just what a tough place to play the Patty Center can be.
Behind a double-double from senior forward
Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) and 18 points from senior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration), the Alaska men's basketball team once again upset a nationally-ranked Western Washington team at home, handing the No. 15 Vikings their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference loss of the season for the second straight year with a 65-61 win at the Patty Center.
It took two free throws with just four seconds left from junior guard
Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) to ice the victory. The Nanooks (7-4, 2-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) went 4 for 6 from the charity stripe in the game's final 37 seconds, helping stave off a last-gasp effort from the Vikings (9-3, 3-1 GNAC), who had already overcome two separate double-digit deficits in the game.
Kelly had 14 points and 11 boards on 7 for 12 shooting for the Nanooks, who extended their best home start in 11 years to 6-0 with the win. Kelly also had two dunks and three emphatic blocks, which helped energize a defense that held the Vikings to a season-low 61 points. Western Washington entered Saturday's contest averaging 93.1 points per game.
Western Washington's Austin Bragg also had a double-double with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. He equaled Kelly dunk for dunk with two slams of his own in the game. Joey Schreiber poured in 18 for the Vikings, who moved to 1-3 this season away from home. No other player scored more than eight points for WWU.
Pucar hit two 3-pointers and was a perfect 4 for 4 from the free-throw line en route to his second-highest point total of the season. He also added two blocks and grabbed three rebounds. Slocum and senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) also scored in double figures with 12 points apiece. Slocum dished five assists and Baker came away with three steals.
The Nanooks didn't just play tough defense on Saturday – they also made the Vikings pay for their mistakes on the other end. Alaska forced 15 Western Washington turnovers and turned them into 23 points. The Nanooks turned the ball over 10 times themselves, but limited WWU to 11 points off of them – a 12-point advantage.
Alaska also dominated the second-chance points category 16-6, despite having two less offensive rebounds than Western Washington (14-12). Both teams made 22 field goals, and Western Washington made two more 3-pointers than Alaska (7-5), but another six-point differential came from the free-throw line, where the Nanooks outshot the Vikings 76.2 percent (16 for 21) to 66.7 percent (10 for 15).
The Nanooks started off on the right foot, getting a turnover on Western Washington's opening possession of the game and putting in a 3-pointer at the other end to take the early lead. The Vikings stayed close, trading buckets and making it 5-4 just 1 minute, 42 seconds, in.
That's when Alaska separated itself for the first time, going on a 10-0 run over a 4:10 span to take an 11-point lead with 14:08 to play in the first half. The Vikings went 0 for 9 with two turnovers during that stretch, part of a 5:36 scoring drought that left them facing a double-digit deficit.
Western Washington would not go quietly though. A 9-0 run later cut the Nanooks' lead to two at 17-15, and an 8-2 run to close the half turned a seven-point Alaska advantage with 3:12 left before the break into a slim 31-30 halftime lead.
The Vikings continued that run in the second half, taking their first lead of the game with a layup from Schreiber and going up by three at 34-31 with another layup from Anye Turner 49 seconds into the half. That capped a 12-2 Western Washington run that crossed over both halves, but the Alaska defense would step in again, while the offense heated up.
A quick 7-0 run put Alaska right back in the lead at 38-34 – a lead it would never again surrender. Schreiber got a bucket to make it a one-possession game, but Alaska took off again. Over the next 8:34, the Nanooks went on a 21-9 run that gave them their biggest lead of the game at 59-45.
Alaska would have to hold off one more hard charge from Western Washington, though. A 14-2 run brought the Vikings within two points at 61-59 with just 58 seconds to play. Bragg scored the final six points of the run and had eight of the 14 points, while Schreiber scored the other six.
It was time for Alaska's clutch free-throw shooting to come on. Slocum missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 37 seconds to play, but Baker stole it back for the Nanooks. Pucar would put in two free throws to make it 63-59.
After a missed 3-pointer by Bragg, Slocum got another chance at a one-and-one, but again missed the front end, allowing Western Washington to rebound and go down the court to cut it to a two-point game (63-61) on a layup by Robert Harris with 4.7 seconds to play.
Third time was the charm for Slocum, as he was fouled after the ensuing in-bound, and he knocked down both free throws to make it 65-61 and seal the game. Schreiber's last-second 3-point attempt fell short and with the Nanooks playing "no foul" defense, he had no opportunity at a game-tying four-point play.
The Nanooks leave the state of Alaska next week for just the second time this season and first time in GNAC play when they travel to Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Alaska faces the No. 11 Falcons at 6 p.m. AKST Thursday, then takes on the Yellowjackets at 5 p.m. AKST Saturday.
