SEATTLE, Wash. – In a thrilling tournament-opener, the six seeded Alaska Nanooks knocked-off the third seeded and seventh regionally ranked Western Oregon Wolves, 91-88 behind a 15-point comeback. With the win, the 'Nooks advance to the GNAC semifinals to face the number two seed, Western Washington Vikings.
 
In a first half that saw the Wolves shoot 63.6% from the field and put up 59 first-half points, the Nanooks hung tight. Despite a 15-point deficit, GNAC Player of the Year, Shadeed Shabazz put up 24 first-half points, keeping Alaska within striking distance. Out of the gates for the second half, the tides shifted, as the Nanooks shot 67.9% from the field, outscoring the Wolves 47-29 and grabbing the first round upset, 91-88. 
 
Off the opening tip-off, the game became one of runs. Western Oregon opened the game on an 0-5 run, behind Dalven Brushier's five early points. After extending the lead to 4-10, the Nanooks made a push, pulling within one at 14-15 behind a coast-to-coast and-one by Shabazz. Keshaun Howard followed Shabazz up with a three-point play of his own; after knocking down the free throw, the game was tied at 17-17. After trading baskets for the next three minutes, the Wolves started their big run to end the half. Cameron Cranston for WOU knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the half at the 7:22 marker, kick starting 2-13 run, making it a 29-43 lead for the Wolves. 
 
That lead was eventually pushed to 15, the biggest of the night for Western Oregon before Koby Huerta, Shabazz and the Nanooks ended the first half in a scoring frenzy. Huerta knocked down a couple jumpers and a free throw for six of his eight points in the final three minutes while Shabazz put up nine of his first-half 24 in the final 2:07, making it a 44-59 deficit heading to the half. 
 
Out of the locker room for the second half, the Nanooks mindset was the same, but the shots that did not drop in the first started to fall early in the second as it took the 'Nooks only 4:55 to erase the 15-point halftime deficit behind nine more Shabazz points, who in just six minutes, scored 18 points and pulled the game even. 
 
Alaska cooled down, however, as the Wolves pulled back to an eight point lead behind four-consecutive points by Darius Lubom. Two minutes later, after an Alex Sommerfield three, Shabazz struck again, this time for yet another three-point play. After completing it from the free throw line, the game was yet again tied, this time at 77-77. An eventual Nanooks lead was stretched by Marcus Lee, who knocked down two big free throws after checking in. Following another Sommerfield three, the Nanooks lost their top-piece. 
 
Shabazz drove the lane down the left side and was called for a charge, waving off his floater, fouling the Seattle-native out of the ballgame. While his night was done, he did not leave without a handful of GNAC tournament records. The junior guard broke the GNAC single-game scoring record with 42 points, while also tying the field goals made record of 15 and tying the steals record with four. 
 
Despite losing Shabazz, the Nanooks support roles stepped up. The Wolves stormed back to take an 84-86 lead with five unanswered points, but a nice pass to Markel Banks under the hoop from Quinn Daugharty allowed the 'Nooks to answer right back. A Lubom turnover gave the Nanooks the ball back with just under a minute to play. 
 
With the game tied and the ball, Spencer Sweet took a three-point attempt with 46 seconds remaining and how sweet it was. He knocked down the shot for his lone three-pointer of the game, giving the 'Nooks the edge with just under a minute remaining. A quick Wolves bucket made it a one-point game, but Huerta called game when he hit a short turnaround jumper from the block, giving Alaska a three-point lead. A lead that would stay after WOU missed their last second shot. 
 
Head coach Greg Sparling had this to say about his guys' effort towards crunch time and the end of the game, "I thought our guys stayed the course, he [Shabazz] had a great night tonight, 42 points but I thought when he went out we didn't panic…our guys stayed the course and I thought they did a very nice job."
 
Huerta and Sommerfield played the key support roles for the Nanooks this afternoon as Huerta ended the game with 18 points on 7-11 shooting while Sommerfield ended the game with 10 points and two of the biggest three-pointers of the season. 
 
This win marks the first GNAC postseason win for the Nanooks since the 2015-16 GNAC Championships when they advanced all the way to the GNAC Championship game. Alaska battles again tomorrow, Friday, March 6 against the Western Washington Vikings at 11:00 a.m. AKT at Seattle Pacific. Alaska and WWU split in their regular-season matchups, with each road team grabbing the wins. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletic page on Facebook.