University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The final road trip of the regular season lies ahead this week for the Alaska men's basketball team, as the Nanooks face Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington and try to get back on track after losing three of their last four games following a five-game winning streak.
 
Thursday the Nanooks (13-8, 8-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) travel to Nampa, Idaho, for a 5 p.m. AKST tip-off against the Crusaders (5-15, 3-9 GNAC). Saturday will be a matchup of the GNAC's third-place (Alaska) and fourth-place (Central Washington) teams as the Nanooks go to Ellensburg, Wash., to take on the Wildcats (11-9, 7-5 GNAC) at 6 p.m. AKST.
 
This week's final road games of the regular season carry even more importance for Alaska as it continues to jostle for positioning in the GNAC standings and try to qualify for the GNAC Tournament at season's end. The Nanooks sit in third place, two games ahead of the sixth and final spot in the tournament with five still to play, including three games against teams currently among the conference's top-six.
 
With a weekend sweep the Nanooks can earn their first .500-or-better road record since the 2004-05 season. Currently 3-5 on the opponent's home court, Alaska has not had a winning road record in eight straight seasons. Two wins this week would also give the Nanooks their most road wins since that 2004-05 season, and would match their conference wins total of 10 from a year ago, when they qualified for the GNAC Tournament for the first time.
 
Alaska will continue to rely on its balanced scoring attack, which now features four players averaging in double figures. Senior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) leads the way for the Nanooks with 14.1 points per game, but his average has steadily dropped off since scoring 18 against Central Washington on Jan. 16.
 
That could be a direct result, however, of Alaska sharing the ball more. The Nanooks have dished 10 or more assists in 11 straight games dating back to Jan. 4, their longest such streak since starting last season with 11 straight games of 10 or more helpers.
 
Senior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) has shouldered a lot of the offensive load lately. He has been the Nanooks' leading scorer in four of the last seven games while raising his points per game average by 2.0 to 10.2 ppg during that stretch.
 
The offense will have to help an Alaska scoring defense that is ranked second in the GNAC and 21st in the nation by holding opponents to 66.0 ppg. The Nanooks have only averaged 61.9 ppg in eight road games, nearly 14 points less than their 75.7 ppg scored at home this season.
 
Help could also come from senior forward Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice), who is averaging 12.7 ppg on the season and shooting a GNAC-best 67.5 percent from the field. Kelly's field goal percentage is ranked No. 6 in the nation and only continues to get better. He has made at least five baskets in eight straight games and has only missed more than three attempts once during that stretch when he missed four (6 for 10) against then-No. 19 Seattle Pacific on Saturday.
 
Game #22: Alaska at Northwest Nazarene – Thursday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. (AKST)
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The Crusaders (5-15, 3-9 GNAC) have lost seven games in a row, including four by 10 or more points. The losing streak includes a 79-69 defeat to Alaska at the Patty Center on Jan. 18. NNU finds itself 2 1/2 games behind the final GNAC Tournament qualifying spot with six games left to play.
 
Northwest Nazarene also flaunts a balanced offense with four players averaging double-figure scoring. Mario Donaldson leads the way with 14.3 ppg, though he's only played in 14 of NNU's 20 games this season. Kevin Rima is the team's top rebounder with 7.9 boards per contest – fifth-best in the GNAC.
 
The Crusaders are ranked in the bottom half of the GNAC in 20 of 21 statistical categories. The only exception being blocked shots, in which the team is ranked third with 2.9 per game. Michael Loomis leads the team with 20 blocks. Six Crusaders have at least nine blocks this season.
 
Game #23: Alaska at Central Washington – Saturday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. (AKST)
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The Wildcats (11-9, 7-5 GNAC) have won three of their last four games and have been tough at home this season with a 7-2 record. CWU likes playing in close games. 12 of Central Washington's 20 contests this season have been decided by single digits, where they are 7-5, including 2-1 in overtime. That one overtime loss this season came at the hands of the Nanooks, 84-80 in Fairbanks.
 
Central Washington carries the nation's leading scorer in Mark McLaughlin, who is averaging an NCAA Division II-best 27.5 points per game this season. McLaughlin had 32 points against Alaska the first time around, but the Nanooks came away with the victory. McLaughlin is supported by three other teammates averaging double-figure scoring, including J.B. Pillard, who is averaging 14.5 ppg and is the No. 2 rebounder in the conference with 8.3 rpg.
 
The Wildcats may have the nation's best scorer, but they also have the GNAC's worst scoring defense, allowing 80.2 ppg. But they make their free throws (2nd, 76.0 percent) and rebound well (2nd, 36.2 rpg), always giving themselves a chance in close games.