MONTEREY, Calif. – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team fell in their final game in Monterey, Calif. during the Otter Invite. Cal State, San Marcos grabbed the win over the Nanooks, 75-88. This loss drops the Nanooks to 1-3, 0-0 GNAC.
 
The first half was all Nanooks. Alaska, as a team, shot 50% from the field, going 13 for 26, while adding 40% shooting from three-point range. The 'Nooks jumped out to an early 11-7 lead behind eight points from Spencer Sweet. San Marcos had a quick response to the deficit, jumping out to a 13-17 lead of their own. After the Nanooks tied things up at 19-19, the game became a back-and-forth battle. The two teams traded buckets until the end of the half with the 'Nooks grabbing the final nine points, ending on a 9-0 run, taking a 32-30 into the half.
 
Out of the break, the Cougars of San Marcos grabbed the momentum and went on a 16-0 run that was eventually broken by a Shadeed Shabazz three-pointer, making it a 37-47 CSUSM lead. The Nanooks made their runs, getting back within 11 at the midway point and then nine with one minute to go. The late push by the 'Nooks was not enough as they were outscored by the Cougars in the second half, 43-58. 
 
Head coach Greg Sparling felt his team was good enough to win on the offensive side, but the defensive end struggled in the loss, "We need to get better on the defensive side. We shot a good enough percentage to win the game [50.09%] but our defense has some work to do. We also need to take care of the ball, we had 10 assists to 21 turnover which did not help our cause. We need to get home, get to work and get ready for the Westminster tournament."
 
The 'Nooks were led in points by Shadeed Shabazz, who put up 19 on 7-10 shooting from the field. Shabazz was also 3-4 from the free throw line and picked up three steals along the way. Spencer Sweet followed the transfer-junior with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals while Markel Banks was the final Nanooks player to hit double-digit points with 13 on 5-6 shooting. Mawich Kachjaani led the 'Nooks on the glass with 10 boards while putting up four points. 

After the full weekend of games the Otter Invite announced their All-Tournament team; Shadeed Shabazz was the one Nanook player chosen after his strong performance in the two games. Shabazz put up 10 points in game one and 19 in game two. 

The Nanooks will head to Westminster, Utah next weekend on Nov. 22 and 23 to take on Westminster College and Dixie State.
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.