Box Score FAIRBANKS – Although they made a strong second half push, the Nanooks could not overcome their in-state rivals, as they fell 76-64 to the Seawolves on Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference competition.
Alaska (5-8, 2-3 GNAC) started off the second half with a 20 point deficit, but would pull within five points of Alaska Anchorage (8-7, 4-1 GNAC) midway through the second half. Unfortunately for the Nanooks, they would not get any closer.
"I thought our guys did a great job fighting back, but it really came down to their best player," Alaska head coach Mick Durham said about the comeback. "We came within five and then [Travis] Thompson gets a few fouls and made four free-throws. Unfortunately, we could never close that gap again."
Thompson scored 21 points to lead all scorers, including 13 in the second half.
The Nanooks were led by Almir Hadzisehovic with 12 points while Ashton Edwards and Anthony Reese each had 11.
Alaska got off to a sluggish start, as it shot just 9-23 (39.1%) from the field and made only three free-throws. On the contrast, the Seawolves went 16-31 (51.6%) from the field and made four 3-pointers.
"I thought the first four minutes of each half set the tone for the remainder of the game," Durham said. "Anchorage was ready to go and we were playing catch-up the majority of the night."
The second half was better for the Nanooks, as they shot 16-28 in the field and made 7 of 12 free-throws. The Seawolves were kept at bay for some of the half only shooting as they made just 11 baskets in the half. Unfortunately, they went 15-17 from the line to seal the win.
Reese was a crucial in the Nanooks second half comeback attempt, with nine points in the half going 4-5 from the field with one assist. Reese concluded the night with 11 points total including four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
"We need to come out ready to play," Reese said about the first half. "We got off to a slow start and ended up having to battle back instead of it being back and forth."
The Nanooks hit the road next week to continue GNAC play at Montana State Billings on Jan. 15 and Seattle Pacific on Jan. 17.
"We don't have much time to overthink tonight's game," Coach Durham said. "We're going to regroup and move on from here and get ready for Thursday's game in Montana."
