EL PASO, Texas – Senior transfer Nahjee Matlock produced a 21-point performance in his unofficial Alaska Nanooks debut, but it wouldn't be enough to life the men's basketball team to victory as they fell 87-85 in overtime at NCAA Division I University of Texas at El Paso in an exhibition contest on Saturday afternoon. 

"Today was a great experience for our guys and we learned a lot as a team," head coach Mick Druham said following Saturday's game. "Going into today's exhibition, I wasn't sure what to expect but was just hoping we'd compete throughout the entire game and we did that for the full 45 minutes. We really played well defensively and was a little inconsistent with our offense but hit some big shots late and came back to force overtime after losing the lead halfway through the second. We're really looking forward to one more exhibition game on Monday at the Patty Center before we officially start the season next Friday."

Matlock, who comes to the Nanooks from NCAA Division I program Montana State, made quite the statement in his first live action game with Alaska, as the Las Vegas native scored the first basket of the game with a three-pointer, from that point onward, the Nooks held onto the lead until about the 13-minute mark at the second half. Matlock went 6-15 from the field, 4-4 in free-throws and 5-9 on three-point attempts, totaling his 21-point performance. To round out the day, Matlock also collected two rebounds, three steals and a game-high five assists.

Not to be overshadowed, junior transfer Trent Molesworth recorded the game's only double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Molesworth, a transfer from Scottsdale Community College, went 5-11 from the field and chipped in two, three-pointers to combine for his 10 points in 23 minutes of playing time.

Senior Bagaly Kaba won the tip-off and the Nooks carried that momentum throughout the entire first half. The Nooks shot 41.9% from the field and 38.9% in three-point field goals in the first half, while also recorded a game-high 40 points in 20 minutes. At the 17:48 mark, the Nooks held a seven-point lead over the Miners – their largest of the game. Matlock and Kaba led Alaska with 10 points at the halftime mark, while UTEP's Terry Winn had a game-high of 13 points.

After intermission, both teams struggled to get on the board until the 18:04 mark when Molesworth drained a three-pointer. A steal by UTEP at the 14:02 mark tied the game at 47-apiece, before the Miners officially took the lead 50-48 at the 13:19 mark. UTEP found a rhythm and had a seven-point lead over the Nooks before Alaska inched their way back to tie the game 66-66 at the 2:10 mark. With less than a minute to go in regulation, Alaska was up 74-70 before the Miners buried a three-pointer and a free-throw to force overtime.

The Nooks shot 75% in three-point attempts in overtime and 40% from the field. With six seconds remaining in overtime, the Nanooks took a foul where the Miners capitalized on the two-shot free-throw. UTEP captured the overtime win 87-85 after a last-ditch tip-in effort by the Nanooks wasn't executed.

Along with Matlock and Molesworth, senior Brandon Davis (14) and Kaba (13) also contributed double-digit points, with Davis shooting 2-4 in three-point attempts from the field.

For UTEP, Dominic Artis recorded a game-high 25 points on the day, while Winn chipped in 19 points for the Miners.

The Alaska Nanooks return to the Alaska Airlines Court for a non-conference exhibition game against Portland Bible this upcoming Monday, Nov. 7 at 7pm AKT. For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.