FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team unofficially opened the 2018-19 season on Monday night, taking down the Antelope Valley Pioneers 94-87 in an exhibition contest at the Alaska Airlines Court.
"I thought there was a lot of good things that came out of tonight's game," first-year head coach
Greg Sparling said on Monday. "The offensive rebounds was impressive but we need to make sure if we get to the free throw line, we make those shots. What also impressed me was that I thought our kids responded well when we needed a basket or a stop. That's what's great about exhibition games. Tonight, we will break the film down and have it ready for the guys to see tomorrow and then we hit the road for a tough trip against Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific. It's not going to get any easier but we just have to get better but this is a good start."
Junior transfer
Spencer Sweet made quite the statement in his unofficial Alaska Nanooks debut, as he led all players with 22 points. Sweet shot 7-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, before shooting 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Sweet also chipped in four rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes on the court.
Junior forward
Michael Kluting followed closely behind with a 15-point night, going 7-for-11 from the field and 1-for-4 from the free throw line. Kluting led all Alaska Nanooks around the net, picking up two offensive rebounds and five defensive rebounds for seven total. The Palmer, Alaska native also registered three assists and three steals in 29 minutes.
Junior guard
Tymoryae Glover was the only other Alaska player to tally double-digit points on Monday, going 4-for-11 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from three-point range and 4-for-6 from the free throw line for a 14-point effort. Glover also collected three rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block for the Nanooks.
Senior guard
Isaiah Easaw also had a night on the floor, dishing a game-high seven assists.
As a team, Alaska went 29-for-60 from the floor for 48.3 percent, 10-for-28 from beyond the arc for 35.7 percent and 26-for-41 from the free throw line for 63.4 percent. The Nanooks tallied 41 rebounds throughout the night, including 17 offensive and 24 defensive, while also totaling 23 assists, eight steals and one block.
Antelope Valley, an NAIA program from Lancaster, California, was led by Kane Keil, who boasted a team-best 20 points.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will head to Honolulu, Hawaii later this week to take part in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover, hosted by Chaminade University. The Nanooks will face the Chaminade Silverswords on Friday, Nov. 9 at 3pm AKST before taking on the Hawaii-Pacific Sharks on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1pm AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
