ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team kicked off the Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic with a huge win over the #19-ranked team in the country, the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans. They used an offensive jolt in the second half to escape with the nine-point win, 76-67. This win moves Alaska to 3-2 on the early season.
In the early-going of the game, Hawaii Hilo moved ahead by five in the opening minutes. A
Coleman Sparling three-pointer pulled the Nanooks back within a bucket, but Hilo kept finding answers. A pair of tied ensued on four
Jahvonta Jones free throws, and a
Koby Huerta three gave the Nanooks a small one-point lead as they entered the final 10 minutes of the opening period. Two more threes for Alaska, one from Sparling and one from Huerta gave the Nanooks a one-point lead going into the half. Right out of the break, Alaska maintained the offensive push and cruised to an eight-point lead. After Hilo pulled within four, a fastbreak three from
Quin Barnard extended the lead back out to seven.
Despite the consistent offense, the Nanooks fell to a 9-0 run from the Vulcans and watched their lead slip away as Hilo's Darren Williams connected from deep, capping off the run and giving them a two-point lead. Jones found himself at the line, once again, and connected on both, re-tying the ballgame at 47-47.
The two teams traded leads until the Nanooks grabbed the last lead with 2:59 left in regulation. After a Sparling layup, they never looked back. They pushed their lead out to nine and claimed their first win over Hilo since Dec. 28, 2006, a win that also took place in Anchorage.
Coleman Sparling ended the night as the high-scorer for Alaska, posting 18 points on 6-13 shooting including three three-pointers, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Jahvonta Jones added 15 in the win, going 4-8 from the floor and 7-9 from the free throw line. He added four boards.
Quin Barnard and
Shadeed Shabazz both added double-digit nights, collecting 11 and 10, respectively.
Abdullahi Mohamed and
Willie Thomas III led the way on the glass as both grabbed eight rebounds.
The Nanooks play one more time in Anchorage, tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 28 at 2:00 p.m. when they take on Quincy University.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, @AlaskaMensBasketball on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.
