BURNABY, B.C. -- Senior Almir Hadzisehovic continued his impress play of late, as he tied his career-high in points with 24, to help the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team open a crucial four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference road trip with a 78-68 win at Simon Fraser on Thursday night.
Tonight's win, accompanied with Western Washington's double overtime loss at home to Alaska Anchorage, puts the Nanooks alone in fourth place in the GNAC with a 9-4 mark through 13 league games. The win also improves the Nooks overall season record to 15-6, as Alaska picks up its first win at SFU under head coach Mick Durham. For the Clan, they drop to 0-13 in the GNAC, and 1-18 on the year.
Hadzisehovic enjoyed his most productive night of the season on Thursday, as the big Serbian scored a game-high 24 points in only 28 minutes of action. Not only is the 24-point outing a new season best for the 6-8 post player, but it also ties a career-high in points for Hadzisehovic, which he previously set against Northwest Nazarene at home last season.
Tonight's performance continues an upward trend for Hadzisehovic, as he has now scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games, and has had five-straight double-digit scoring outings. The Belgrade, Serbia native hit 9-of-12 from the field and pulled down six rebounds in the win. The post player's effort from the field helped the Nanooks shoot 50.8 percent as a team on the night, and guided the Nooks to a 40-30 advantage in rebounds.
Senior Travante Williams extended his double-digit scoring streak to 11 games, as he tallied 13 points in the win. All 13 points were scored in the second half, as Williams battled through foul trouble in the first. The Anchorage, Alaska native nearly pulled off a double-double, by grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
Junior Bangaly Kaba finished the game with 13 points, while redshirt senior Joe Slocum added 10 points to go along with a team-high three assists, to give Alaska a quartet of double-digit scorers.
Alaska led a pesky Simon Fraser squad by three at 36-33 going into the locker room. The Nanooks led for the majority of the first 20 minutes, but never held more than a six-point lead after the under 12 minute media timeout.
The Clan cut the Nanooks lead to one with the first two points of the second half, but like the first half, the Nooks thwarted any chance of SFU taking the lead with a quick 4-0 spurt to go up five with 18:39 remaining. Alaska looked as if they were beginning to pull away from Simon Fraser by taking an eight point lead with 16:02 remaining in the game, but as it was in the first half, the Clan continued to chip away at the Nooks' lead, eventually making it a one possession game at 49-46 at the 15:31 mark.
A 9-3 run gave Alaska a nine point lead at 56-47 after a Williams' 3-pointer with 13:49 on the clock. SFU made it a six-point lead for Alaska just a few minutes later, but the Nanooks took their first double-digit lead at the 9:20 mark after a pair of Williams free throws made it 63-52. The Nooks maintained their double-figure advantage for nearly the remainder of the game, and went up a game-high 17 points with 2:42 left in the game. Alaska had to withstand one more SFU rally before capturing a 10-point road win.
The Nanooks continue their four-game GNAC road swing on Saturday with a matchup against Western Washington. Tip-off from Whatcom Community College is set for 6 p.m. AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
