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Highlights
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Behind a season-high 21 points from senior forward
Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) and all five starters scoring in double figures, the Alaska men's basketball team stayed unbeaten at home Thursday with an 88-74 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win over Montana State Billings.
Alaska (13-7, 8-4 GNAC) moved to 9-0 this season at the Patty Center and extended its home winning streak to 11 straight – tied for its longest home unbeaten stretch since joining the GNAC in 2001-02. Alaska also had an 11-game home unbeaten streak during the 2002-03 season, which included beating three NCAA Division I teams at the Carlson Center en route to winning the now-defunct BP Top of the World Classic.
Tica earned Era Alaska Nanook of the Game honors Thursday by going 8 for 11 from the floor and making three 3-pointers while pulling down five rebounds to lead the Nanooks. Tica has made at least one trey in eight straight games and two or more in seven of eight.
Alaska made a season-high 12 3-pointers, going 12 for 18 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc. It was the most 3-pointers the Nanooks have made since Jan. 12, 2013, when they made 13 in an 89-56 win over Western Oregon.
Senior forward
Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) also had a good shooting night, making 7 of 9 attempts and scoring 16 points. Kelly is shooting a GNAC-best 67.9 percent this season. His 67.3 field goal percentage entering the week was ranked No. 7 in the nation. He also added four assists, three steals and two blocks to an all-around performance.
Senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) scored 15 points for Alaska and made three 3-pointers. Senior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) had 11 points and was strong on the defensive end with four blocks and two steals. Junior guard
Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) chipped in 11 points and dished a team-high five assists while grabbing three steals.
Montana State Billings' (8-12, 4-8 GNAC) Austin Hudson had a huge game, leading all players with game-highs of 24 points and 22 rebounds. Hudson was just two rebounds short of the GNAC single-game record of 24 boards set three years ago by Blake Poole of Saint Martin's.
Hudson had 13 offensive rebounds to set a new GNAC record. The old record was 12 by Stanley Ratcliff of Western Oregon against Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 7, 2006. MSUB outrebounded Alaska by 15, 40-25, but the Nanooks controlled every other aspect. It was the second time this season the Nanooks were outrebounded by 15 boards, and they have won both times. Simon Fraser also outrebounded Alaska by 15 rebounds on Jan. 2, but Alaska won 67-58.
Alaska outshot Montana State Billings 51.7 percent to 45.3 percent. The Nanooks forced more turnovers (17-9) and had less personal fouls (17-11) while getting almost twice as many chances at the free-throw line (20-11).
The Nanooks burst out of the gate with a 21-9 run in the game's first 7 minutes, 6 seconds, and never looked back. Montana State Billings' only lead of the game was at the 17:56 mark of the first half when Jonathan Mesghna's 3-pointer gave the Yellowjackets a slim 5-4 lead. From there the Nanooks went on a 17-4 run to take that 21-9 advantage.
Alaska's lead would grow to as many as 14 before halftime on a layup from Tica with 1:34 left. Tica had 12 of his 21 points before the break. The Nanooks pushed their lead to as high as 15 on two separate occasions during the second half.
Montana State Billings attempted to close the gap in the game's final 10 minutes, getting within four with 6:14 to play thanks to a 12-4 run, but it would get no closer. A 3-pointer from Baker and a fast-break layup from Slocum off a Yellowjackets turnover put the lead back at nine points with five minutes to play.
Alaska faces its second nationally-ranked opponent of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday when No. 19 Seattle Pacific visits the Patty Center. The GNAC-leading Falcons beat Alaska Anchorage 88-76 on Thursday.
