FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A late run by the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles proved to be too much for the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, as they fell 82-72 on Monday night in front of a crowd of 359 at the Alaska Airlines Court. Senior forward Zach Pederson led the Nanooks, posting 19 points on the night.
"We're a new team and obviously having growing pains, but yet, we're just not quite putting a full game together. Don't get me wrong, I liked the effort and I liked what they were trying to do out there, but we're all still learning about what kind of team we will be this year," head coach Mick Durham said on Monday night. "We played a Cal State LA team that is very talented, they were good defensively and shot well tonight."
Despite the Golden Eagles getting on the board first, Alaska tied the game early in the first half at 9-9 before junior LaDonavan Wilder made a layup to give the Nooks a two-point lead at the 15:36 mark. At the 7:34 mark, Cal State LA took a nine point lead over the Nooks but back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Nahjee Matlock, followed by two, three-pointers from freshman Daniel Hornbuckle and three timely free throws by senior Zach Pederson gave the Nanooks the 35-34 lead at the 4:21 mark. In the first half alone, the Nooks shot 17-of-27 from the floor to total 63%, while draining 5-of-8 three-point attempts for 62.5% and 5-of-6 free throws for 82.3%.
Alaska entered the second half four points behind the Golden Eagles and quickly tied the game at 48-48 with back-to-back layups from senior forward Bagaly Kaba and Pederson. However, Cal State LA formed momentum at the halfway mark in the second to take a 13-point lead at the 7:42 mark (72-59. The Nooks were able to inch their way back to within six points at the 5:45 mark but timely free throws and jumpers sealed Cal State LA's victory 82-72.
"I did think they gave us a chance in the second half," Durham continued. "We botched two fast-breaks and missed a rushed three-pointer, which I think would've tightened it up. They've got two big guys that can really shoot, which I think was a bit of the difference maker in the last two minutes."
Pederson led all Nanook players with 19 points on Monday night, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-3 from behind the free throw line. Pederson was named the Ravn Alaska Nanooks of the game after also collecting a (tied) team-high eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks.
Matlock followed up Pederson's performance with 15 points himself, shooting an impressive 5-of-10 from the field, 1-of-3 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 in free throw attempts, while also chipping in a team-high seven assists. Kaba and Hornbuckle each contributed 10 points for the Nooks, as Kaba tied the team-high for eight rebounds and Hornbuckle shot 4-of-5 from the field, including going 2-of-2 in three-point attempts.
As a team, the Nooks shot 48.2% (27-of-56) from the field, 26.3% in three-point attempts (5-of-19) and 72.2% (13-of18) in free throw attempts. Alaska was able to gain 11 points off of turnovers, 13 points from second chances and received 17 points from the bench.
The Golden Eagles were led by Travis Hammonds, who scored 23 points on the night after shooting 9-of-15 in field goals, 3-of-4 in three-point attempts and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Jordan Wilson followed up Hammonds play by scoring 21 points himself, including going 5-of-9 from behind the arc.
"I mean, there were a lot of positives from tonight. In the first half, that's the most efficient we've been offensively all season. It was kind of overshadowed by how well they shot, but we still shot 63% and they shot 57%, they just had more three-pointers," Durham concluded. "We've been played pretty solid defensively, our rebounding was better tonight, which has been a battle for us. Again, this was a great game for us. It's almost like a conference game because we played them twice, so both teams got to know one another."
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team hits the road once again, travelling to Bellingham Washington to take on Quest University of Canada on Saturday, Nov. 26 and Fresno Pacific on Sunday, Nov. 27 in the Western Washington University Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic. Alaska plays at Noon AKST on Friday and 2pm AKST on Saturday.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks on Facebook.
