MONMOUTH, Oregon – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team was defeated, 89-95, by the Western Oregon Wolves. This lose bring the team to 11-17 overall and an even 10-10 in conference. 
 
The Nanook travelled to Oregon to play a game against WOU with their playoff hopes in the balance. Despite the loss, fortune favored Alaska, as Seattle Pacific defeated Central Washington, 63-56, keeping CWU's record at 10-10 and giving the 'Nooks the sixth and final playoff berth.
 
Shadeed Shabazz was feeling it early and scored the first six points of the game for Alaska to set them on an 8-1 run in the opening minutes of the game. Western Oregon responded with some points of their own and cut the deficit to two-points, 10-8, with 14:46 left in the first half. A pair of free-throws from Mawich Kachjaani put the Nanooks up six, 17-11. A little under the 10-minute mark, Western Oregon made a layup to tie the game up, 19-19. The Wolves made two free throws to take the lead and Alex Sommerfield drained a three-pointer to give Alaska back the lead, 22-21. WOU made two more free-throws to regain the lead and spent the remainder of the half expanding their lead. At the end of the first half, the Nanooks found themselves down eight points, 39-47.
 
Shadeed Shabazz led all scorers with 15 points at the half, to go along with his three steals and four rebounds. Mawich Kachjaani had a perfect first half, going 2-2 from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line to give himself eight points to go along with his six rebounds.
 
Coming out of the break, the wolves immediately pushed their lead to double digits and Alaska spend the opening minutes cutting down their lead. Two free-throws from Mawich Kachjaani tied the game up, 56-56, with 14:24 remaining in regulation. The following possession a steal by Shadeed Shabazz set Spencer Sweet up for a timely dunk to give the 'Nooks a two-point lead. From here Western Oregon would rebuild their lead, and Alaska would fight valiantly but never quite gain enough momentum on both end of the floor to completely cut the deficit. The Nanooks would go on to lose by six, 89-95.
 
Shadeed Shabazz had another monster scoring night, going 12-24 from the field and 8-8 from the free-throw line for 35 points total. He was also a menace on the defensive end with seven steals on the night. Mawich Kachjaani dominated the glass tonight, bringing in 14 rebounds to go along with his 16 points for a solid double-double. Spencer Sweet made solid contributions with 12 points and six rebounds. Alex Sommerfield also broke double digits in scoring, with 10 points on a 4-6 shooting night.
 
Head Coach Greg Sparling had many positive things to say about his team despite the loss, "I thought Mawich had his best game in a 'Nook uniform with 16 points and 14 rebounds. I thought our guys played hard tonight just couldn't get across the finish line. We played a lot better in the second half versus the first half. Moving forward, I'm very happy for our student athletes, the university and our fan for qualifying for the GNAC tournament. Our program is on the rise."
 
The team will be heading to Seattle next week to face the number three seed, Western Oregon in the GNAC quarterfinals on Thursday, March 5 at 11 a.m. AKST. The winner will go on to play against the number two seed, Western Washington the following day at 11 a.m. AKST. The GNAC championship game will be held on March 7 at 4 p.m. AKST. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletic page on Facebook.