SEATTLE -- The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team knocked off the No. 9 team in the nation on Saturday night, as they defeated Seattle Pacific, 79-75, at Brougham Pavilion to remain undefeated in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The win marks the first time since Feb. 21, 2013 that the Nanooks have defeated a team ranked inside the top ten of the NABC Top 25 Poll. It is also the first win for Alaska over a ranked opponent since Jan. 4, 2014. Both times came against Western Washington in Fairbanks. With the win, Alaska has now beaten a ranked team in three of the last four years under head coach Mick Durham.
Alaska moves to 10-2 on the year and remains in first place in the GNAC, as they move to 4-0. It is only the second time in program history that the Nooks have opened GNAC play at 4-0, as they match the program's best start in the GNAC, which was set during the 2002-03 season. For No. 9-ranked Seattle Pacific, the loss marks their second-straight defeat, as they fall to 9-3 and 2-2 in league play.
"We were pretty determined from the start," said Durham. "We got ourselves in a pretty good position at half and really prevented SPU from building a substantial lead. We hung with them, made some big plays around the four-minute mark (of the second half) to get the lead, and held on. It's pretty exciting to beat the No. 9-ranked team in the country at their place. It's been a while since we've beat these guys, and the first time I've beat them, so it's kind of nice to get that streak over with."
It had been a little over five years since Alaska last defeated SPU. The last win came on March 4, 2010, when they defeated the Falcons, 113-105, in Fairbanks. Tonight was also the first time the Nooks had won in Brougham Pavilion since the 2006-07 season. They knocked off Seattle Pacific, 75-70, on Feb. 22 of that year.
Senior Travante Williams scored a team-high 17 points, and once again played a vital role down the stretch for Alaska, as he went on a personal 5-0 run to turn a two-point Alaska lead into a seven-point lead with 2:19 to go. The Anchorage, Alaska native hit a game-high four 3-pointers, as he led a Nooks offense that shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from behind the arc.
Alaska was once again driven by its starting five, as they scored 65 of the team's 79 points on the night. Junior Bangaly Kaba returned to double-digits after a one game absence, as he tallied 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Seniors Almir Hadzisehovic and Joe Slocum each chipped in 12 points apiece, while junior Brandon Davis collected nine points.
The two teams were deadlocked at 15-all at the 12:32 mark of the first half, but the No. 9-ranked team in the country would go on a 9-0 run to take a 24-15 lead with 8:58 remaining in the frame. The Nooks battled back and pulled within one at 26-25, after a pair of Kaba free throws with five minutes to play. Each squad traded buckets for the remainder of the half, as Alaska would find itself down by just a point at, 32-31, going into the locker room.
SPU and the Nanooks continued their stalemate through the first six minutes of the second half, as there were three lead changes and one tie. Neither team gained more than a four-point lead during the stretch. It looked as if the Falcons had taken control midway through the second, as they went on an 8-2 run to build a 55-48 lead with 9:53 remaining. But just as they did in the first half, Alaska answered with a 10-3 run of its own to pull within two points at the 7:16 mark after a Kaba jumper.
The Nanooks continued their attack over the next few minutes and took the lead at 61-60 with 5:08 left to play after a 3-point field goal from Slocum. Seattle Pacific tied the game on the following possession after going 1-of-2 from the line, but Hadzisehovic sank a four-straight free throws on the Nooks next two possession to give them a 65-61 advantage with 3:40 remaining.
SPU pulled back within a basket after Hadzisehovic's second pair of free throws to pull within two, but Williams would step up and roll off five-straight points of his own to give Alaska a commanding 70-63 lead with 2:19 left to play. The Nooks lead expanded all the way to 11 points, as a 9-0 run, which started with Williams' five points spurt, was capped off by a pair of free throws from Slocum, to make it 74-63 with 1:24 remaining.
The No. 9 team in the nation would not go down without a fight, as Alaska had to withstand a 12-5 SPU run during the final minute of play before closing out the game with a four-point victory.
Alaska returns home this Thursday, as they play in the nightcap of a GNAC men's and women's basketball doubleheader at the Alaska Airlines Court. The Nooks will take on Western Washington, with tip-off scheduled for roughly 7:30 p.m. AKT
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
