FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team suffered a tough defeat on Thursday night, falling to 95-79 to the Seattle Pacific University Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup at the Alaska Airlines Court. The loss drops the Nanooks' overall record to 4-7 and 2-3 in conference play, while the Falcons improve to 8-4 on the season and 3-2 against league opponents.
Despite the loss, four of Alaska's players tallied double-digit figures on Thursday night, led by junior forward
Alex Baham. The Wasilla, Alaska native shot 4-for-6 from the floor, 3-for-5 from behind the arc and 8-for-9 from the free throw line to lead all Alaska players with 19 points.
Junior forward
Joe Lendway followed closely behind, collecting 16 points from shooting 7-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Lendway also chipped in fix rebounds, one assist and one steal in 28 minutes on the court.
Senior forward
LaDonavan Wilder collected a season-best 15 points, while sophomore forward
Michael Kluting registered 11 points for the Nanooks. Kluting was close to his second double-double of the season on Thursday, pulling down nine rebounds and also posting three assists, one block and one steal.
Sophomore guard
Jalon McCullough led all players with five assists for a career-best night.
As a team, the Nooks shot 52.9 percent from the floor (27-for-51), 46.7 percent from behind the arc (7-for-15) and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (18-for-24). The Nanooks tied the Falcons in boards, as each team posted 30 on the night. Alaska also picked up 12 assists, three blocks and two steals against the Falcons.
Seattle Pacific's Coleman Wooten led all players with 20 points on Thursday, shooting 7-for-8 from the floor, 3-for-3 from three-point range and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. As a team, SPU pulled away from the Nanooks thanks to some sharp shooting from the three-point line, going 12-for-19 from behind the arc for 63.2 percent on the night.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 4, as they host the Saint Martin's Saints in a GNAC matchup at the Alaska Airlines Court. Tip-off 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.
