FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Offensive rebounds by the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves proved to be the difference-maker in Tuesday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest, as the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team fell victim to the Seawolves 68-61 in front of a season-best crowd of 592 fans at the Alaska Airlines Court.

The loss moves Alaska to 11-13 on the season and 6-9 in conference play, while the Seawolves improve to 18-5 overall and 12-3 in GNAC contests.

"I mean, they shot 37 percent and they had 20 offensive rebounds so our defense was pretty good but we talked about it in the locker room, we got man-handled on the boards," head coach Mick Durham said. "20 offensive rebounds to four is the difference. We can analyze it and think about other things but we just didn't take care of business on the boards."

In a first half that saw seven lead changes and four ties, neither team allowed the other to take more than a four-point lead through the first 15 minutes of the first half. Down 17-15 at the 8:57 mark, UAA collected four turnovers back-to-back, sending Alaska on a nine-point run. The Seawolves battled back and drained a three-point shot before the buzzer to tie the game at 26-26 going into intermission.

Unfortunately for the Nooks, a foul in the first minute of play swung the momentum in favor of the Seawolves, who went on a 10-point run to start the second half. After some three-point shots from the Nanooks, UAA continued to answer with three-point buckets of their own and at the 13:29 mark extended their lead to a game-high 12 points to make it 43-31. For the next seven minutes, Alaska battled their way back and pulled the game to within 47-49 at the 6:39 mark. UAA would hold on to their lead from the beginning of the second half to seal the victory 68-61.

"It's a 20-minute game. At halftime, we tried to put what happened in the first half behind us and focus on what was coming next. We did not have a good start to the second half and that, I think, set the tempo for the rest of the game besides the offensive rebounds," Durham continued. "We got ourselves down 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half and were close to coming back but just couldn't pull it off."

Senior guard Brandon Davis led the Nanooks' offense on Tuesday, shooting 8-of-14 from the floor, 2-of-4 from three-point range and 1-of-1 from the free throw line to tally 19 points. The Spokane, Washington native also picked up three steals, one assist and one rebound in his full 40 minutes on the court.

Senior guard Nahjee Matlock was the only other Alaska player to score double-digit figures on Tuesday, shooting 6-of-14 from the floor, 3-of-4 from behind the arc and converting on 3-of-4 free throws to register 18 points. Matlock also chipped in three assists, one steal and one rebound.

Junior forward LaDonavan Wilder registered a team-high six rebounds, while senior forward Bangaly Kaba posted a team-high four steals.

In total, the Alaska Nanooks shot 42.9 percent from the floor (24-of-56), 36.8 percent from three-point range (7-of-19) and 85.7 percent from the free throw line (6-of-7). The Nanooks also recorded 26 rebounds, nine steals, six assists and three blocks. Furthermore, Alaska received 26 points in the paint, 12 points off of turnovers and seven points from their bench.

UAA's Spencer Svejcar registered a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds for the night's only double-double. Svejcar was assisted by Diante Mitchell who recorded 21 points, while Corey Hammell posted a game-high 11 rebounds for the Seawolves.

The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will continue their homestead this week, hosting the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets in a GNAC contest at the Alaska Airlines Court on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7pm AKST.

"This is a tough stretch, four games in eight days, especially playing the top-two teams in the league back-to-back. We have a short turnaround but we'll be ready," Durham concluded. "We try to make it so each game is its own entity. We'll get ourselves right tomorrow and move on to MSUB."

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.