LACEY, Wash. – A tip-in from senior Almir Hadzisehovic gave the No. 2–seeded Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team a one-point lead over No. 6-seed Western Washington with seven seconds remaining, and the defense stood tall on Vikings' final possession, as their last-second 3-point attempt fell short to give the Nooks a thrilling, 91-90, victory over WWU in the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship semifinals game on Friday afternoon.
The victory puts the Nooks in the GNAC Championship game for the first time in program history, as they continue their search for the third GNAC championship overall. The first two titles came before the GNAC Championships were established in 2011, when they claimed a share of the regular season crown in 2003 and 2005. The win pushes Alaska's record to 22-7 overall, and extends the Nanooks season-best winning streak to six games. The 22 wins are now the second-most in a single season in program history, as they are one win away from tying the program record in wins (23) set back during the 2003-04 campaign.
"That was a heck of a basketball game," said head coach Mick Durham. "We got a little separation late in the second half, but we couldn't keep it, and we had to make a big basket on our final possession to put us in a position to win. It's been a while since team has shot like that against us. They hit about every three they could. But I'm really proud of my guys. We made plays to keep the lead late and we got a stop with two seconds to go, which wasn't easy, but we got it and we're moving on to tomorrow."
Alaska now enters the GNAC Championship game against No. 6-ranked, and top seed Western Oregon, as the hottest team in the conference. The Nanooks have won nine of their last 10 contests going into Saturday's finale. The two teams split a pair of match ups this season, with the Nanooks claiming victory in the most recent game, 87-78, in Fairbanks on Feb. 18. The Wolves were the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II coming into the mid-February contest, as Alaska captured its first win over the top team in NCAA Division II in program history.
Friday's semifinal was arguably the GNAC game of the year. There were 16 lead changes and eight ties, and neither team led by more than nine points. In fact, Alaska never trailed by more than one possession the entire game, as its biggest deficit was just three points. The Nanooks found themselves up two, 89-87, with 37 seconds left in the game. Western Washington put Alaska on the line for a one-and-one, but they would fail to convert, as the Vikings grabbed the carom with the chance to tie or take the lead. WWU's Jeffery Parker hit a corner 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give his team a 90-89 advantage with 19 seconds left.
The Nanooks went the full length of the floor and had the ball in the hands All-GNAC first teamer, Travante Williams with the game's final seconds ticking away. Williams got a screen from Hadzisehovic to open the lane and put up a floater as the help defense collapsed on him that rimmed out. Fortunately, Hadzisehovic followed Williams down the lane and tipped in the miss to put his team up by one with seven seconds remaining.
WWU quickly inbounded the ball, but Alaska would knock it loose at half court, and the ball rolled out of bounds on the baseline under the Vikings own basket. After a review, the officials determined that the Nanooks did indeed touch the ball last and gave Western Washington one final chance with 2.1 seconds left in the game, a situation eerily similar to the one that set up a 100-99 WWU victory in overtime at the Alaska Airlines Court back on Jan. 7.
The Vikings inbounded the ball to a wide open Brad Wallace, who had already drilled four trifectas in the game, and he fired the potential game-winning shot at the top of the key. Wallace's attempt hit the back iron and junior Brandon Davis tipped the carom over to Williams to seal the Nanooks first-ever berth into the GNAC Championship final.
Williams led the charge for Alaska, as he was one of three players, all seniors, to record double-digits with 23 points. The senior also tallied a game-high 10 boards to record his team-leading eighth double-double of this season. Williams hit eight of his 13 attempts from the field and added a three assists and one block.
Redshirt senior Joe Slocum, who was the lone player on the roster to play in a GNAC Tournament game prior to today, showed his experience in a win-or-go-home situation, as he tied his career-high in points with 18. Slocum shot exceptionally well from behind the arc, as he hit exactly half of his team's 3-point makes with four. The point guard also added a team-best four assists to help Alaska collect 15 total helpers as a team.
Friday's hero, Hadzisehovic, tallied 17 points and hit seven of his 12 shot attempts on the day. He collected six rebounds, but none was bigger than the tip he put in on Williams' miss to score the game-winning bucket.
Alaska outscored Western Washington, 50-34, in the paint. The high percentage shots led to the Nanooks third-straight game with a 50-percent or better performance from the field, as the team collected a 52.9 percent clip.
The Nanooks will play for its first GNAC Tournament crown tomorrow, March 5, at 4:30 p.m. AKT. Alaska will play No. 1 seed Western Oregon. The Nanooks split with both the Wolves and Falcons this season. The game will be broadcasted live on the American Sports Network.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
