FAIRBANKS, Alaska – In what might go down as the game of the year for the Alaska Nanooks, the Nanooks and Cavaliers of Concordia went to double-overtime before the 'Nooks finally pulled away and claimed the victory, 116-111. With the win, the Nanooks improve to 3-7, 2-0 GNAC in the early part of the 2019-20 season.

The first half of Saturday's game was a half-of-runs. Concordia jumped out to an early 11-17 lead before the 'Nooks, led by Shadeed Shabazz, made a small-run, getting back within four. Unfortunately for the Nanooks in the first half, four was the closest they would come until the 1:04 mark when Koby Huerta knocked down a corner three, tying the ballgame at 41-41. Concordia ended the half on a 5-0 run, taking a 46-41 lead into the locker room.

When talking about the end of the first half and the turnaround in the second half, head coach Greg Sparling felt his team stepped up in the perfect times, "This was a great team win, all the way from top to bottom, we've been preaching about cutting down our turnovers, we got that down to 12 in a double-overtime game, which was big and we found the hot hands when we needed to."

The Nanooks were led by three hot hands in the second half, but none hotter than Markel Banks. The junior-transfer from Olympic College broke out in the second half, tallying 28 points, shooting 11-13 from the field and going 6-6 from the free throw line. After a scoreless half, Banks and the Nanooks found the mismatch they were looking for and took full advantage of the opportunities. "I think the biggest thing was you [Banks] stuck with it. We went to the isolation with you on the big kid, number 32, and he couldn't stay in front of him, then you started to hit the pull-up jump shot, which was huge, really putting them on their heels." Coach Sparling felt the mismatch of Concordia's big man, Dakota Ayala, on Banks allowed for the 'Nooks offense to find the needed-spark in the second half.

While Banks led the way in the second half, it was not a clean start to the second half, as the Nanooks dug themselves into a 13-point deficit only three minutes out of the locker room. Despite the deficit, Banks took over with three straight buckets, pulling Alaska within eight. After trading baskets, the Nanooks pulled within two after a Spencer Sweet three made it 63-65. Alaska tied the game up at 65-65 with two Banks free throws and eventually took the tie into overtime at 82-82. The junior-guard from Kent, Wash. scored 17 of his 28 second half points in the final nine minutes, willing the game to continue. "My teammates just told me to start playing my game, I was playing a little timid in the first half but they told me to 'turn up'…I saw the first couple go in and I just started to feel good." Banks praised his teammates' confidence after his turnaround from the first half to second half.

Concordia came out in the first overtime with an all-out offensive attack. At the midway point of the period, the Cavaliers pushed out to a five-point lead. Despite the lead, Shadeed Shabazz became the answer late in the first overtime for Alaska. With 30 seconds remaining, Shabazz scored on two free throws, a three-pointer to get the 'Nooks within one and then the shot heard around Fairbanks. With eight seconds remaining and the Cavaliers holding onto a 94-97 lead, Shabazz put up a three. The three fell short but was tipped out towards the coaching box in front of the Nanooks bench; redshirt-junior, Zach Hatch found himself with the rebound and kicked the ball to Quinn Daugharty who then found Shabazz for one last look. Shabazz knocked down the three with less than two seconds on the clock, sending the game to a second overtime and sending the Patty Center into a frenzy.

Shabazz was asked about the shot following the game, "Man, honestly, I was just trying to win. I can't even say too much about it. I was just looking at my guys, I know how bad we want it, we just needed a big shot and I just needed to get it done."

The second overtime became a back-and-forth battle as the Nanooks jumped out to a 101-99 lead followed by a Cavs' run that saw them grab the lead back at 101-103. After Isaac Morrow of CU tied the game at 107-107 with a reverse lay-in, Shabazz found himself with the defensive play of the game. With just under a minute remaining and the score tied, Shabazz picked Caleb Larsen's dribble and went coast-to-coast for the go-ahead fast-break bucket giving the Nanooks a 109-107 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. Shabazz, Banks and Sweet all claimed the final points for the 'Nooks, each hitting two free throws, putting the game away with a final of 116-111 in the Nanooks first double-overtime game since 2017.

Shabazz ended the night with 43 points, becoming the 15th player in GNAC-history to eclipse 43 points in a single game. He shot 14-23 from the field, 4-7 from three-point range and 11-15 from the free throw line and added two rebounds, two assists, one block and four steals to his stat-line. Banks ended the night with 33 points, all of which came in the second-half and the two overtimes. He shot 11-14 from the field and was nearly-perfect from the free throw line, going 11-12. Spencer Sweet was the only other Nanook scorer to hit double-digits, putting up 19 points on 7-11 shooting. He was 3-7 from three and grabbed six rebounds.

The Nanooks now take a month-long break as the players get ready for finals week and holiday break before getting back to action on Thursday, Jan. 2 in Lacey, Wash. when they take on the Saint Martin's Saints.

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