FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team bounced back from Thursday's loss in a big way on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks 67-53 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at the Alaska Airlines Court. The Nanooks improve to 10-12 overall on the season and 8-8 in league play, while the Nighthawks drop to 11-11 on the season and 7-9 in league matchups.
Alaska started off Saturday's game by going on a 8-0 run, before Northwest Nazarene responded with a 9-0 run of their own, all before the 12-minute mark. The Nooks went up as much as nine points over their opponent before the visiting team clawed their way back to make it a 25-24 game heading into intermission.
Back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by the Nanooks put Alaska up 45-30 over the Nighthawks and continued to carry the momentum throughout the remainder of the game to seal their eighth conference victory of the season.
The Nanooks were led offensively by junior guard
Amenofis Mitchell, who shot 4-for-8 from the floor, all beyond the arc, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to tally 14 points on the day. Mitchell also chipped in five rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes on the court.
Junior guard
Alex Baham followed closely behind with a 12-point day, shooting 4-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-7 from three-point range to total 12 points.
Sophomore forward
Michael Kluting shot 5-for-11 from the floor, including one three-pointer to post 12 points against the Nighthawks. Kluting also led his teammates in rebounding, pulling down eight rebounds.
As a team, the Nanooks shot 42.0 percent from the field (21-for-50), 41.9 percent from three-point range (13-for-31) and 80.0 percent from the free throw line (12-for-15). Alaska also tallied six offensive and 30 defensive boards to total 36 rebounds, 13 assists, five blocks and two steals against the Nighthawks.
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team hits the road for a pair of GNAC tilts next week, as they take on the Simon Fraser Clan on Thursday, Feb. 15 in Burnaby, British Columbia before taking on the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Bellingham, Washington. Thursday's game is scheduled for 6pm AKST, while Saturday's tip-off is slated for 2pm AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks on the men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
