BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team bounced back after Monday's loss to Cal State LA, cruising to a 101-56 victory over Quest University of Canada in day one of the Western Washington Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic at the Whatcom Pavilion on Saturday morning. The nonconference match puts the Nanooks at a 3-4 overall record, while Quest falls to 3-4 overall.
"Today's game is exactly what we needed at this part of the season," head coach Mick Durham said following Saturday's win. "We were able to get a lot of guys some good, solid minutes in the game and able to work on a few things we've been wanting to try in-game. We executing well and our defense is improving each game. The stat I'm most impressed about today is our 27 assists and only seven turnovers."
Senior guard Brandon Davis led all players with 18 points, his fifth game this season tallying double-digit figures. Davis shot 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from behind the arc and 1-of-2 from the free throw line, while also chipping in four assists, two steals and one rebound.
In total, four Nooks compiled double-digit points against Quest, including senior forward Zach Pederson (13), junior forward LaDonavan Wilder (15) and freshman forward Michael Kluting (15). Wilder shot 7-of-10 from the floor, while Pederson posted a game-high three steals.
Junior forward Trent Molesworth collected a team-high nine rebounds, while senior guard Nahjee Matlock registered seven assists – the most of any player throughout the game.
As a team, the Nooks shot 57.1 percent from the floor (44-of-77), 35.3 percent from behind the arc (6-of-17) and 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from the free throw line. The Nooks had one of their best shooting halves of the season, as they shot 60-plus percent from the floor (64.9), behind the arc (60.0) and free throw line (60.0) in the second half. Alaska collected 40 rebounds to Quest's 31 and notched 27 assists, 14 steals and four blocks.
Quest was led by Theo VandenEkart, who shot 6-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-7 in three-point attempts to tally 15 points. N. DeRappard-Yuswack posted a game-high 12 rebounds, while Dallas Searles tallied four assists.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team returns to action tomorrow, Nov. 27 for day two of the Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic, taking on Fresno Pacific at 2pm AKST at the Whatcom Pavilion.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
