ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team won their third-straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference game on Saturday, defeating the Central Washington Wildcats 86-83 at the Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg. The Nooks improve to 7-7 on the season and 5-3 in conference play, while the Wildcats drop to 8-7 overall and 3-5 in league contests.

"Prior to tonight's game, we talked to the guys and said that we have to play better than we did on Thursday and I thought we executed that game plan," head coach Mick Durham said on Saturday. "We had energy all night and really executed in the second half and built a nice lead in front of a hostile crowd, thankfully we were able to hold them off until the end. We made 18-of-20 free throws and shot 10-for-20 from the three, which we are proud of. GNAC wins are hard to come by, both at home and on the road, and to get a couple this weekend is exciting for this team."

Alaska was led offensively by junior forward Alex Baham, who shot 6-for-10 from the floor, 4-for-8 from behind the arc and 6-for-6 from the free throw line to tally a team-best 22 points.

Following closely behind was junior guard Davis Kimble, who went 6-for-10 from the floor, including one three-point bucket and 5-for-5 from the free throw line for 18 points on the night. Kimble also chipped in six rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes on the floor.

Sophomore forward Michael Kluting completed his fifth double-double of the season against the Wildcats, registering 11 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes on the floor. Junior guard Tre Eisenhut shot 5-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to be the only other Alaska player to score double-digit figures with 14 on the night.

As a team, the Nooks shot 50 percent from the floor (29-for-58), 50 percent from three-point range (10-for-20) and 90 percent from the free throw line (18-for-20). Alaska also picked up nine offensive and 26 defensive boards to total 35 rebounds against the Wildcats, while also totaling 14 assists, five steals and one block.

The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will return to their home court next week, as they host the Western Washington Vikings on Thursday, Jan. 18 before taking on the Simon Fraser Clan on Saturday, Jan. 20. Thursday's game at the Alaska Airlines Court will take place at 7pm AKST, while Saturday's matchup is slated for 2pm AKST.

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