BURNABY, B.C. – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team overcame a 20-point deficit at the start of the second half to defeat the Simon Fraser Clan 88-83 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup at the West Gymnasium on Saturday night. The victory snaps a three-game conference losing streak for the Nanooks and improves their overall record to 7-8 and 2-4 in conference play, while the Clan fall to 2-12 overall, 0-6 GNAC.
"Well, it wasn't how we drew it up but give the guys credit for an unbelievable second half," head coach Mick Durham said on Saturday following the game. "We probably played our worst half of basketball and then our best half of basketball tonight. Give Simon Fraser credit the first half, they played great."
Things weren't looking so well for the Nanooks, as Saturday's game started out with an Alaska turnover which put Simon Fraser on the board first 2-0. Simon Fraser held on to that momentum and went on a 19-6 run before Alaska could even reach the 10-point mark halfway through the first. Missed shots and turnovers continued to haunt the Nanooks, as a last-second three-point bucket by SFU sent Alaska into intermission down 22 points (28-50).
In the first half alone, Alaska shot only 40.63 percent from the field (13-of-32), 11.11 percent from behind the three-point line (1-of-9) and connected on only 1-of-2 free throw shots.
The Nooks returned from intermission and were hungry, as senior forward Bangaly Kaba's good two-point shot from the floor sent Alaska on a nine-point run to cut Simon Fraser's lead to 13 points only two minutes into the second half. Slowly but surely the Nanooks caught up to their opponent and officially took the lead for the first time with a three-point bucket from senior guard Nahjee Matlock at the 2:38 mark.
In the second half alone, Alaska shot 66.67 percent from the field (20-of-30), an almost full 27 percent better than the first half. Furthermore, Alaska shot 45.45 percent from three-point territory (5-of-11) and 88.24 percent from the free throw line (15-of-17).
The Nanooks continued to keep the pedal on the floor and connected on another jump shot and five free throws to seal the victory at 88-83.
Senior forward Zach Pederson led Alaska's offense on Saturday night, converting on 10-of-15 shots from the floor and draining 2-of-2 free throws to collect 22 points on the night. Pederson's 22 points marks a single-game career personal-best for the Snohomish, Washington native in his first 20-point game as a Nanook.
Pederson tied Matlock for a team-high six rebounds each, as Matlock shot 4-of-7 from the floor, drained one three-point bucket and connected on each of his seven free throws to tally a 16-point night. Matlock continues to be one of the best dishers in the GNAC, posting a game-high six assists.
Senior guard Brandon Davis and Kaba also collected double-digit points on Saturday, as Davis recorded a 15-point night, while Kaba rallied for 14. Redshirt-junior Lorenzo Graham had a record night, shooting 4-of-6 from the field, 1-of-3 from behind the arc and 2-of-4 from the free throw line to post a career personal-best 11 points.
"Big lift from Lorenzo Graham off of the bench tonight, it was exactly what we needed from him," Durham concluded. "Tonight was a great win for our spirits as we continue conference play on the road next week."
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will head to 365 miles south for a conference matchup against in-state rival Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday, Jan. 10, with tip-off scheduled for 7pm AKST. Alaska will continue conference play on the road for the remainder of the week, traveling to Billings to take on the MSUB Yellowjackets on Saturday, Jan. 14.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
