HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team dropped their second-straight game In the Great Northwest Athletic Conference/PacWest Crossover on Saturday evening, falling to the Chaminade Silverswords 80-66 at the Moanalua High School Gymnasium. The loss drops the Nanooks' early overall record to 0-2 on the season.
"We ran into a very talented Chaminade team that can really score. I thought we defended well for about 30 minutes but just had a tough time making shots in the last 10 minutes or so," head coach Mick Durham said following Saturday's game. "We're learning about ourselves every game. We have a day off tomorrow and we'll have to show up and compete on Monday night against BYU-Hawaii on the other side of the island."
Senior Brandon Davis paced the Nanooks' offense in Saturday's game, scoring 17 points to lead the team for the second-straight game. Davis went 6-14 from the field, 3-7 in three-point attempts and 2-2 from the free-throw line, while also dishing two assists in 37 minutes on the floor.
Sophomore transfer LaDonavan Wilder and senior Zach Pederson recorded 10 points each to follow Davis' lead. Wilder was only one rebound shy of a double-double after collecting nine rebounds on the night, while Pederson shot 4-7 from the field and 2-5 in three-point attempts.
Senior Nahjee Matlock posted a team-high eight assists and three steals in a nine-point game for the Las Vegas, Nevada native.
As a team, Alaska shot 40.3% (27-67) from the field, 24.1% (7-29) in three-point attempts and 45.5% (5-11) in free-throws. Alaska combined for 33 rebounds, 15 assists, six blocks and three blocks against a talented Silversword team.
Chaminade was led by Kiran Shastri, who posted a game-high 22 points for the Silverswords, while Rohndell Goodwin chipped in 19 points himself. Chaminade shot 49.3% from the field and 75% in free-throws, while also tallying 43 rebound and 19 assists.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team has a quick turnaround while in Hawaii, they take on the BYU-Hawaii Seasiders in another non-conference matchup on Monday, Nov. 14 at 8:30pm AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
