FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team needed a second half comeback to get past the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets on Thursday, as the Nooks captured the, 69-58, Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory at the Alaska Airlines Court.
The win improves Alaska's record to 6-1 in league games, while they are now 12-3 overall on the year. For Montana State Billings, they move to 6-10 overall and 3-5 in conference contests.
"That was work," said head coach Mick Durham after the game. "I was worried that this game would be work for us. We were very efficient in the second half. We didn't shoot extremely well from behind the arc, but we were still able to shoot 62 percent in the second half and we gave the ball to the right people inside. I thought we defended pretty well most the night with both our man and our zone, and we done a much better job at rebounding in that second half."
The Nooks found themselves trailing at half, 27-26. Alaska battled back from a 12-point deficit at 25-13 with 7:14 remaining in the frame, but closed out the half on a 13-2 run to pull within a point at the break.
"We were in a little trouble in the first half, but they only managed to score two points over the final seven minutes," Durham stated. "I thought going into the break down one point was a huge key for us. It could have gotten out of hand when were went down 12, but we were able to pull within a point, and I told our guys that it's a 20-minute game from here, and we responded well out of halftime."
Alaska put on a dominating display in the second frame, as they shot a blistering 62.1 percent from the field (18-of-29). The Nanooks owned the paint in the second stanza, which lead to a 32-4 advantage in points in the paint over the final 20 minutes of play.
The Nooks scored the first three points of the second half to take its first lead of the game at 30-27. MSU Billings battled back at regained a three-point lead at 35-32 after a Marc Matthews' 3-point field goal capped off a quick 5-0 spurt. Senior Travante Williams tied the game on the next Alaska possession, as he drilled the team's lone 3-point basket on the night to give the home squad a 35-32 advantage with 15:57 remaining.
Montana State Billings retook the lead at 45-44 with 9:11 left to play, but that would be the final time the Yellowjackets held an advantage on Thursday, as the Nooks took a nine point lead off the heels of a 13-5 run. The Nanooks built their advantage as high as 11 points in the final five minutes of play, and that would be the margin they would win by, as Alaska collected the 69-58 victory.
The Nooks had three players in double-digits on Thursday, led by Williams' 18-point performance. It is the five-straight game that the Anchorage, Alaska native has scored double-digits. The guard has also surpassed the 10-point plateau in all seven GNAC games this season.
Senior Almir Hadzisehovic added 15 points, as he has now scored double-figures in four-consecutive games. Junior Bangaly Kaba rounded out the double-digit scoring trio with 11 points, with 10 of those points coming in the second half.
Alaska shot 47.5 percent from the field for the game, while they held MSUB to a 31.7 shooting percentage. Thursday also marked the second-straight game that the Nooks have held a team under 60 points.
The Nanooks conclude their four-game GNAC home stand this Saturday, as they host instate rival, and first place, Alaska Anchorage. Tip-off from the Alaska Airlines Court is set for 7 p.m.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
