Men's Basketball | 1/4/2017 2:20:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will hit the road for the first time in 2017 this weekend, taking on the Western Washington Vikings and the Simon Fraser Clan in two Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. The Nooks will face WWU on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6pm AKST before crossing the border to take on SFU on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6pm AKST.
Alaska Projected Starters
#3
Nahjee Matlock (12.0 PPG, .358 FG%, 4.8 APG)
#13
Bangaly Kaba (18.5 PPG, .610 FG%, 4.5 RBPG)
#21
Zach Pederson (12.0 PPG, .413 FG%, 5.3 RBPG)
#22
Spencer Clark (4.0 PPG, .455 FG%, 5.0 RBPG)
#31
Brandon Davis (15.0 PPG, .468 FG%, 2.3 APG)
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks fell victims to a conference sweep at home last weekend, falling to the Saint Martin's Saints 87-71 on Thursday, Dec. 29 before seeing a second half rally fall short against Seattle Pacific, which ended in a 79-77 loss on Saturday, Dec. 31. Senior forward
Bangaly Kaba and
Zach Pederson led the Nanooks' offensive efforts throughout the weekend, as Kaba recorded a team-high 19 points against SMU, while Pederson posted a team-high 17 points against Seattle Pacific.
Don't Call it a Comeback
From the looks of the past two games, the Nooks like to play in the second half. As the GNAC Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook pointed out, Alaska shot 57.1 percent from the floor (16-of-28) in the second half against Saint Martin's and converted on 15-of-31 shots from the field and 13-of-16 shots from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes against Seattle Pacific.
Davis Continues to Lead
Senior guard
Brandon Davis currently leads the Nanooks in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game overall this season. Davis ranks fifth in the conference in steals (1.5 steals per game), eighth in free throw percentage (.829) and tenth in three-point field goals-made (2.1 per game). Throughout the 13-game season thus far, Davis has registered 11 double-digit point games, including one 20-point game against Central Washington on Dec. 3. Furthermore, Davis ranks within the top-20 in the GNAC in scoring (13.7 points per game) and 14th in assists (3.1 per game).
BK on the Come-Up
Senior
Bangaly Kaba continues to be one of the top-offensive producers for the Nanooks, as the Houston, Texas native ranks second on Alaska and 22nd in the conference in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game. Kaba also ranks within the top-20 in the conference, ranking eight in defensive rebounds (4.8 per game), 14th in total rebounds (5.9 per game) and 17th in free throw percentage (.719). Kaba has scored double-digit figures in seven of Alaska's 13 games this season, including two 20-points-plus in back-to-back games (Dec. 2 at NNU and Dec. 3 at CWU).
Assists on (Mat)lock
Senior guard
Nahjee Matlock currently leads the league and is 12th in NCAA Division II with a 3.53 assists/turnover ratio. Matlock ranks second in the conference in assists (5.2 per game), eighth in steals (1.5 per game) and 15th in free throw percentage (.750). Matlock's 67 total assists on the season ranks him 26th in NCAA DII.
With the help of Matlock, Alaska ranks first in the conference and 13th in NCAA DII in turnover margin (+5.31) and also lead the league and rank 13th in DII in assist/turnover ratio of 1.49.
Scouting the Opponent – Western Washington (9-3 overall, 3-1 GNAC)
Despite ranking first in the conference standings, Western Washington has dropped three of their last four games, defeating Simon Fraser 103-98 on Friday, Dec. 30 before falling 100-93 to Montana State Billings on Saturday, Dec. 31. Forward Taylor Stafford led the Vikings in scoring in both games, converting on 11-of-21 shots from the field and draining 8-of-8 shots from the free throw line to collect 31 points against Simon Fraser before scoring 27 points against MSUB. Stafford ranks third in the conference and 21st in NCAA DII in scoring at 22.3 points per game. As a team, Western Washington enters this week leading the GNAC and ranked 13th in NCAA DII in scoring with a 91.9 points per game average.
Scouting the Opponent – Simon Fraser (2-10 overall, 0-4 GNAC)
The Fraser dropped both home conference contests last weekend, falling 107-66 to MSUB on Thursday before being edged by WWU 103-98 on Saturday, Dec. 31. Five different players from the Clan scored double-digit figures against MSUB, led by junior Kedar Wright, who posted 14 points and eight rebounds. On Saturday, Wright dropped 28 points against WWU and continues to lead the Clan in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
