FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday night, as they defeated Saint Martin's, 85-77, in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at the Alaska Airlines Court.
The win pushes the Nooks into a fourth-place tie in the GNAC standings with Western Washington, as both teams sporting an 8-4 mark in league games. Alaska also improves its overall record to 14-6. For Saint Martin's, they fall to 9-11 on the year and 3-6 in league games.
"That was a good win for us, I knew it wasn't going to be easy and it wasn't," said head coach Mick Durham. "We got some separation from them in the second half, but they are a dangerous team that can shoot the three, and they kept coming back. It was good for us to get this win, especially after playing Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific in back-to-back games. This will be good for us as we move onto our four-game road trip."
The Nanooks put an offensive clinic on Saturday against one of the premier defensive teams in the GNAC. Going into the contest, Saint Martin's allowed teams to score just 69.8 points per game on a 41.7 percent field goal percentage. The Nooks were able to put 85 points, which was the most points SMU has allowed in seven games, and shoot a crisp 49.2 percent from the floor against the Saints.
Alaska was led by the senior combination of Almir Hadzisehovic and Travante Williams. The duo scored a combined 44 points, as each player posted 22 points in the win. The 22-point outing was a season-best for Hadzisehovic, as the Belgrade, Serbia native hit 9-of-11 of his field goal attempts on Saturday. For Williams, the 22-point effort extends his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games. It was also the seventh 20-plus scoring performance for him this season.
Junior Brandon Davis joined the senior combo in the double-digit scoring category by collecting 12 points. Senior Alex Duncan posted eight points, while junior Zach Pederson added seven to help the Nooks outscore the Saint's, 19-18, in bench points.
Junior Bangaly Kaba tallied a career-best five assists to help Alaska collect 17 as a team. Senior Joe Slocum added to the effort with his four assists. The Nanooks took exceptional care of the ball, as they turned the ball over just eight times, which helped to outscore Saint Martin's, 19-10, in points off turnovers.
Both teams shot the ball exceptionally well in the first half, as Alaska shot 56.7 percent and Saint Martin's posted a 55.6 percent success rate. The high scoring half featured a combined 83 points, and ended with a Pederson 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Nooks a three-point lead at 43-40 going into the break.
The Nanooks were on the brink of a double-digit lead multiple times in the second half, but when it looked as if Alaska had a comfortable lead, the Saints would bring it back the back within a single possession. The Nooks final broke through with a double-digit lead late in the half, as a quick 6-0 spurt pushed their advantage to 79-69 with 1:16 remaining.
SMU had one final push in them, as they pulled within five points with 34 seconds left, but Alaska would hit three of its final four free throw attempts to hold on for an eight-point win.
The Nanooks will now embark on an important four-game GNAC road trip, which opens in Canada next Thursday night. Alaska looks to capture its first season sweep of Simon Fraser under Coach Durham. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
