FAIRBANKS, Alaska – In a tight Great Northwest Athletic Conference battle at the Alaska Airlines Court, the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team came out victorious on Saturday afternoon, as the Nooks defeated the Saint Martin's University Saints 78-71. The win improves Alaska's overall record to 5-7 and 3-3 in GNAC play, while the Saints drop to 10-4 on the season and 3-3 in conference contests.

"I'm really proud of how our guys bounced back from Thursday's loss," head coach Mick Durham said on Saturday. "We changed the starting lineup a bit and shortened the bench and it worked out in our favor. We played very balanced offensively and played solid defensively from the start and I think this was probably our best rebounding game of the season so far."

The first half of Saturday's game saw only three lead changes and four tie scores but some sharp-shooting from three-point range allowed the Nooks to pull away from the Saints, taking a 12 point lead at the 7:00 mark. The Saints went on a six-point run with less than three minutes left in the first half but Alaska still walked into halftime with a 32-30 lead.

Alaska came out hot in the second half, going on a nine-point run to take a 43-32 lead over SMU only three minutes into the second stanza. The Nooks never looked back and held on to their lead for the remainder of the game, as the second half featured no tie scores and no lead changes.

For the first time all season, five of Alaska's players scored double-digit figures led by junior forward Alex Baham, who shot 5-for-11 from the field with all five shots coming from behind the arc and chipping in one free throw shot to tally 16 points.

Sophomore forward Michael Kluting posted his third double-double of the season, registering 14 points and a season-best 12 rebounds. Kluting also chipped in three assists, three steals and two blocks in 24 minutes on the court.

Junior forward Joe Lendway shot 6-for-7 from the floor for 12 points, while also picking up six rebounds and a season- and career-best four assists. The Kansas City, Kansas native also totaled one block and one steal in 32 minutes on the court.

Junior guards Tre Eisenhut and Davis Kimble both scored 11 points against the Saints, with Eisenhut recording a career- and game-high seven assists on the day.

As a team, the Nooks shot 53.6 percent from the floor (30-for-56), 37.5 percent from three-point range (9-for-24) and 60 percent from the free throw line (9-for-15). The Nooks also pulled down five offensive and 35 defensive rebounds to total 40 boards to Saint Martin's 31, while also picking up 18 assists, six steals and three blocks.

The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will hit the road next week, as they take on the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Thursday, Jan. 11 before facing the Central Washington Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 13. Thursday's game in Nampa will take place at 5pm AKST, while Saturday's game is slated for 6:30pm AKST.

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