Men's Basketball | 1/28/2020 3:56:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will host the GNAC-leading Seattle Pacific followed by the Saint Martin's Saints this week in a pair of home games.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming back home off of a four-game road trip. In those four games, the 'Nooks pulled out a 2-2 split, defeating Central Washington and Montana State Billings, while falling to Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage. Last game, the Nanooks faced off with their in-state rivals, the Seawolves, and fell 86-105. The Nanooks played a strong game on the offensive side, but 19 made three-pointers for UAA seemed to be the dagger for Alaska.
Following the Tuesday loss, the Nanooks travelled to Billings, Mont. to face-off with the Yellowjackets of MSUB. In what felt like a must-win game, the 'Nooks put together a strong second-half to pull off the comeback win, improving to 6-4 at the midway point in GNAC play. With the win, Alaska remains in the heart of playoff contention as they are tied for third place in the standings with Anchorage and NNU.
Pick-Pocket
Shadeed Shabazz has proven himself as one of the nation's top defenders. Through 18 games, the junior from Seattle, Wash. has grabbed a total of 68 steals, becoming an average of 3.78 steals per game. This average puts him number one in the nation for steals per game, and 0.25 more than the second place guard, Romeo Crouch, a junior at Embry-Riddle in Florida.
Strong from the Outside
Spencer Sweet has become the go-to from the outside for the Nanooks. Sweet on the season is 45-103 from three, shooting 43.7% from the outside. In the last four games, Sweet went 4-6, 4-6, 2-5 and 4-7 from three-point range, putting up 16, 17, 12 and 12 in the point's column.
GNAC Player of the Week
Shabazz was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday, Jan. 27 after strong performances against Alaska Anchorage and Montana State Billings. Against UAA, Shabazz scored 32 points while picking up eight assists. Shabazz continued his dominance into the MSUB game on Saturday, putting up 38 points, hitting 10-11 free throws, picking up 10 steals and grabbing eight rebounds, just missing out on a triple-double. With four-consecutive 30-point games, Shabazz has moved into the top-10 in the nation for scoring. Now in the ninth spot, the junior is averaging 24.6 points per game through 18 games.
Two More for 400
Nanooks head coach,
Greg Sparling, finds himself only two wins away from 400-career wins. In his 26th year as a head coach, and 19th in the GNAC, Sparling leads the GNAC in career wins and is second in career wins within the GNAC, trailing only UAA head coach, Rusty Osborne.
Scouting the Opponents
Seattle Pacific
Seattle Pacific comes into Fairbanks as the last undefeated GNAC team. Riding a 14-game winning streak, the Falcons are 14-4, 10-0 GNAC having defeated the 'Nooks in their Jan. 4 matchup in Seattle, Wash. In the last meeting,
Alex Sommerfield led the way for Alaska with 17 points on 3-7 shooting from three-point range.
Shadeed Shabazz followed with 15 points with the majority of his points coming from the free throw line.
Seattle Pacific is led by Divant'e Moffitt. The sophomore guard has put up 15.8 points per game while shooting 51.8% from the field. Moffitt is also the top defender on the Falcons, having grabbed 18 steals on the season. Shaw Anderson was the hot-hand against Alaska the first time around when he scored 33 points while shooting 12-16 from the field and 4-5 from three. He also added nine rebounds. Anderson on the season is averaging 12.4 points per game and leads SPU in shooting percentage, putting up a 56.0% from the field.
SPU is coming off of a big three-game home stand in which they defeated the MSUB Yellowjackets 83-72, Western Washington 74-65 and Simon Fraser 94-68.
Saint Martin's
Saint Martin's finds themselves on an 11 game-losing streak. In the first meeting between Alaska and Saint Martin's the Nanooks grabbed a 98-88 win over the Saints behind 30 points from Shabazz, 21 from
Koby Huerta, 18 from Sweet, 17 from Sommerfield and 12 from
Mawich Kachjaani. The all-around offensive spread was assisted by 50.7% shooting from the field, 41.9% shooting from three and 89.5% from the free throw line behind 17 made free throws.
SMU is led by Demonte Malloy on the offensive side of the ball as the junior is putting up 14.9 points per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. This is the best shooting percentage in the starting-five besides big man, Marky Adams. Adams has become a big-time post threat for the Saints with 10.4 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game.
The Saints are coming off of a tough weekend slate of games after falling to MSUB 69-80 at home before falling to Western Washington in another close game, 78-85.
GNAC Standings
| 1 |
Seattle Pacific |
14-4, 10-0 GNAC |
| 2 |
Western Washington |
13-5, 8-2 GNAC |
| 3 |
Alaska Anchorage |
13-8, 8-3 GNAC |
| 4 |
Northwest Nazarene |
9-6, 6-4 GNAC |
| 5 |
Alaska |
7-11, 6-4 GNAC |
| 6 |
Western Oregon |
11-5, 5-5 GNAC |
| 7 |
Simon Fraser |
12-7, 5-5 GNAC |
| 8 |
Central Washington |
10-8, 3-7 GNAC |
| 9 |
Montana State Billings |
8-10, 3-7 GNAC |
| 10 |
Saint Martin's |
4-15, 2-8 GNAC |
| 11 |
Concordia |
2-16, 1-9 GNAC |
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletic page on Facebook.
