SEATTLE – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team rallied to overcome a nine point deficit in the second half to force their first overtime of the season, only to fall 72-69 to the Seattle Pacific Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup at the Royal Brougham Pavilion on Thursday night.
The loss puts the Nanooks at 8-12 overall on the season and 3-8 in conference play, while the Seattle Pacific Falcons complete the season sweep of the Nanooks with their win at home, improving to 9-10 overall and 5-6 in GNAC competition.
"We hung around late and almost stole a road win," Durham said after Thursday's game. "We really competed defensively, which is a must if you're going to beat Seattle Pacific. Offensively, it was a bit of a struggle, but to shoot only 32 percent and lose in overtime is a testament to our defensively play tonight. Seems like it always comes down to a late rebound we weren't able to grab."
Down 49-40 at the 8:15 mark of the second half, the Nooks dug deep and went on a nine-point run to tie the game at 49 apiece at the 6:22 mark. As both teams exchanged turnovers and timely free throws, the Nooks finally took the lead with a good jump shot from junior LaDonavan Wilder to make it 57-56. The Falcons and the Nanooks both collected two-point shots to tie the game at 59-59 but a blocked shot by senior forward Bangaly Kaba with one second remaining sent the Nooks to overtime.
The beginning of overtime seemed to be in favor of the Falcons, but Alaska went on a 7-0 run with less than two minutes remaining to tie the game once more at 69-69. Unfortunately for the Nanooks, the Falcons were able to convert on a good jump shot before capitalizing on a turnover to seal the overtime victory at 72-69.
Senior guard Nahjee Matlock paced Alaska's offense on Thursday, shooting 7-of-18 from the floor and draining each of his three free throws to tally a team-high 17 points on the night. Matlock also chipped in three rebounds, two steals and team-high four assists against the Falcons.
Fellow senior guard Brandon Davis also registered a solid night, collecting 14 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists in a team-high 39 minutes on the court. Redshirt-junior guard Lorenzo Graham was the only other Alaska player to score double-digit figures on Thursday, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point territory to tally 12 points.
Seattle Pacific's Tony Miller posted the game's only double-double, registering 20 points while pulling down 14 rebounds. Three other Falcons posted 10-or-more points on the night.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 28 in another GNAC contest against the Saint Martin's Saints in Lacey, Washington. Tip-off is slated for 6pm AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
