LACEY, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday night, as they defeated Saint Martin's 74-72 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at the Marcus Pavilion. Senior forward Zach Pederson posted a career personal-best 24 points to help the Nanooks split the weekend on the road.
The win pushes the Nooks to 9-12 overall and 4-8 in conference play, while Saint Martin's falls to 11-9 overall and 5-7 in GNAC competition.
"Tonight was a great win for us, we really competed well all weekend," head coach Mick Durham said on Saturday. "Zach Pederson had a huge game back in his home state. We would've liked to build on our nice lead and not hold on for dear life at the end, but this team will keep you on your toes all 40 minutes every night."
Pederson shot 11-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-4 from behind the arc to tally 24 points for the Nanooks. Pederson also chipped in five rebounds and two steals in his 31 minutes on the floor.
Pederson led a quartet of Nanooks who scored double-digit figures on Saturday, as senior guard Brandon Davis followed Pederson's performance with 15 points of his own, shooting 6-of-14 from the field, 2-of-7 from three-point territory and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Davis also added five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
Senior forward Bangaly Kaba registered his first double-double of the season with a 12-point performance while also pulling down 11 rebounds for Alaska. Senior guard Nahjee Matlock matched Kaba with a 12-point night of his own while collecting a game-high eight assists.
Despite shooting only 38.71 percent (12-of-31) from the floor in the first half, Alaska picked it up a shot a sharp 61.54 percent (16-of-26) from the field in the second half alone to total 49.1 percent (28-of-57) on the night.
Saint Martin's was led by Cole Preston, who shot 7-of-12 from the floor and collected 8-of-11 free throws for 23 points on the night. Preston also pitched in six assists and five rebounds for the Saints. SMU shot 72.4 percent (21-of-29) from the field and tallied 38 rebounds.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team returns home next week to host the Simon Fraser Clan on Thursday, Feb. 2 before taking on the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, Feb. 4. Thursday's game is scheduled for 5:15pm AKST, while tip-off Saturday is slated for 3:15pm AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
