BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Despite a close comeback late in the second half, a two-minute lapse in the first half proved to be the game-changer that shifted the momentum in favor of the Western Washington Vikings, as the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team dropped their third-straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference game 78-69 at the Whatcom Pavilion on Thursday night. The loss moves the Nanooks' overall record to 6-8 and 1-4 in GNAC play, while the Vikings improve to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
"I like how we competed tonight, but we got out-manned on the boards and ultimately, that was the difference-maker in the game," head coach Mick Durham said following Thursday's loss. We hung around all game, which you need to do on the road, and we were close with some pushes late but Western held on. Zach Pederson and Bangaly Kaba played well for us tonight and our bench guys are improving each game."
Alaska came out of the gate on Thursday, getting on the board first with a layup from senior forward Zach Pederson and holding on to that lead for the first 15 minutes of the game. The Nooks were dominating the majority of play in the early part of the first half, playing at a fast tempo and moving the ball up-court quickly, catching Viking players out of position for favorable jump shots. However, the tide turned rather abruptly, as Western Washington went on a 14-8 point run to head into intermission leading the Nanooks 39-33.
Foul trouble and missed shots haunted the Nanooks through the first ten minutes of the second half, as the Vikings had a 16-lead over the Nanooks (42-58) at the 11:53 mark of the second. After converting on two free throws, redshirt-junior guard Lorenzo Graham drained a bucket from the behind the three-point line to shift the momentum in favor of the Nooks. Freshman forward Michael Kluting and senior guard Brandon Davis followed Graham's lead by scoring back-to-back three-point shots, pulling the Nanooks to 53-62.
In comes senior guard Zach Pederson, who posted a good layup, free throw and three-point bucket all within 28 seconds to cut Western's lead to 66-59. Timely free throws by senior guard Nahjee Matlock and Davis pulled the Nanooks to within five points of the Vikings, but Alaska couldn't convert in the latter half of the second and fell 78-69 to Western Washington.
Senior forward Bangaly Kaba led the Nanooks' offense, registering 20 points against the Vikings by going 7-of-15 from the field, 1-of-2 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Kaba's 20-point night marks his third-straight game of scoring double-digit figures and his third game this season of recording 20-or-more points in a single game. Furthermore, Kaba posted three assists and a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks.
Pederson and Davis were the only other Nooks to score double-digit figures on Thursday, as Pederson posted 16 points while Davis collected 15. Matlock continues to lead the Nanooks in assists, as the Las Vegas, Nevada native registered five against the Vikings.
As a team, the Nanooks shot 42.1 percent from the field (24-of-57), 35.3 percent from three-point territory (6-of-17) and 88.2 percent from the free throw line (15-of-17). The Nooks rallied for 25 rebounds against the Vikings, including seven offensively, while posting 15 assists, four blocks and 10 steals. Additionally, Alaska received nine points off of second changes, 12 points from their bench and 20 points off of WWU turnovers.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 7 with a conference bout against the Simon Fraser Clan in Burnaby, British Columbia. 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.
