PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team used a 39-14 run to open the second half against Great Northwest Athletic Conference newcomer, Concordia, as the Nooks pick up their third-straight road win with a 99-76 victory on Thursday night.
The win improves Alaska's overall record to 13-4, while they maintain third place in the GNAC standings, by moving to 7-2 in league play. For Concordia, the Cavaliers fall to 5-11 in their first NCAA Division II season, while they also drop to 3-6 in league play.
"We didn't really finish the first half well, but we really got things going early on in the second half," said head coach Mick Durham. "We had a lot of different guys produce for us, which is always good to see. Almir Hadzisehovic got off to a good start today, as did Joe Slocum. Our starters put us in a position to give out bench some quality minutes on the road. Zach Pederson had a strong game off the bench, and Isaac Ladines put in some good minutes as well."
The Nanooks had five players score double-digits on Thursday, as senior Travante Williams led the way with another 20-point outing. Tonight's performance marks the third time in the last five games that Williams has recorded 20-or-more points. The Anchorage, Alaska native hit a game-high four 3-point field goals, and nearly collected his sixth double-double of the year, as he pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Fellow senior Almir Hadzisehovic added 16 points and six rebounds, while junior Bangaly Kaba and redshirt senior Joe Slocum had 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Junior Zach Pederson came in off the bench and registered 12 points in 23 minutes of action.
Alaska outscored the Cavaliers, 62-38, in points in the paint. The high-percentage shots led to a 58.3 shooting percentage. The Nooks were especially deadly in the second half, as they shot 67.6 percent in the final 20 minutes of play. The Nanooks also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which led to a 21-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The Nooks led for the majority of the first half and built a 14-point lead with 3:33 remaining before halftime. The Cavaliers were able to cut their deficit in half going into the break, thanks to a 15-8 run, as Alaska led, 48-41, at the end of the frame.
The Nanooks scored the first 14 points of the second half, as a Hadzisehovic layup gave them a 62-42 lead with 15:51 left to play. Alaska pushed its advantage to 32 at 87-55 with a Slocum jumper with 7:55 remaining. Slocum's jumper capped off a 39-14 run in during the first 12:05 of the second stanza. The Nooks maintained their double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the contest, and captured the 23-point victory to move to 3-0 in GNAC road games.
Alaska returns to action on Saturday, as they take on No. 8 Western Oregon to conclude a brief two-game road trip. Tip-off from Monmouth, Oregon is set for 6 p.m. AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
