FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team begins their GNAC-conference play this weekend with trips to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. 
 

Opponents	Western Oregon Wolves (1-6, 0-0 GNAC) Saint Martin's Saints (4-2, 0-0 GNAC)
Dates & Times	Thursday, Dec. 2 Western Oregon at 6:30 p.m. AKT   Saturday, Dec. 4 Saint Martin's at 4:15 p.m. AKT
Locations	New PE Building | Monmouth, Ore.   Marcus Pavilion | Lacey, Wash.
Follow Along	Thursday at WOU: Live Stream | Live Stats Saturday at SMU: Live Stream | Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 
Last Time Out
The Nanooks men's team is coming off of a two-game weekend in Anchorage that ended in a split. The first night, the Nanooks knocked-off #19-ranked Hawaii Hilo. They used 18 points from Coleman Sparling to defeat the Vulcans. In the win, Jahvonta Jones also added 15 points, going 7-9 from the free-throw line. Quin Barnard and Shadeed Shabazz added 11 and 10 in the win, respectively. On night two, the Nanooks fell to the hot-handed Quincy Hawks. Despite 37 points from Shabazz and 18 from Abdullahi Mohamed, the Nanooks fell victim to a 52.2% shooting night from deep by Quincy, which included a 77.78% (7-9) first half. The 'Nooks battled, but fell 83-76.
 
GNAC Schedule
Alaska will head to Oregon and Washington to officially begin their conference play. They'll open up with the Western Oregon Wolves on Thursday, Dec. 2 and then travel up to Lacey, Wash. for a date with the Saint Martin's Saints. WOU enters conference-play at 1-6, 0-0 having lost their first three on the season to Cal State, San Bernardino, Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay before grabbing their first win over Sonoma State. They've dropped their last three to Humboldt State, Fort Lewis College and Westminster College. WOU is led by Cameron Cranston, who through seven games, is averaging 16.9 points per game while also grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game. He also leads the Wolves with 10 steals on the season. 
 
Saint Martin's enters this weekend's matchup at 4-2, 0-0 GNAC and are fresh off of a win at Cal State Monterey Bay. The Saints opened up their season with a 94-88 win over Holy Names in San Marcos, Calif. before falling to Cal State San Marcos, 76-60. They ran off a two-game winning-streak with a home-win over Warner Pacific (NAIA) and Cal State East Bay before falling to Academy of Art. SMU is led by Brett Reed, who through six games, is averaging 17.5 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. 
 
What's to Come
Following the opening-GNAC schedule, the Nanooks will immediately hit a break. They'll play on Dec. 2-4 before not playing again until Dec. 18 on their home-court for their home-opener against Portland Bible School. Following the holidays, the Nanooks will play host to their GNAC home-opener on Dec. 30 with Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific on Jan. 1 to welcome 2022. 
 
All-Tournament
The Nanooks had two selected to the Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team on Sunday, Nov. 28. Coleman Sparling and Shadeed Shabazz were both named following their performances against #19-ranked Hawaii Hilo and Quincy. 
 
Current NABC Rankings

1. Lubbock Christian (14)            7-0
2. Northwest Missouri State (2) 6-1
3. Mercyhurst                             4-0
4. Queens (N.C.)                         6-0
5. West Texas A&M                    8-1
6. Nova Southeastern                 3-0
7. Indiana (Pa.)                            5-0
8. Chico State                              5-0
9. Fairmont State                        5-0
10. Augusta                                   5-0
11. CSU San Bernardino                6-0
12. Angelo State                           6-0
13. Grand Valley State                  5-0
14. West Liberty                           4-1
15. Lincoln Memorial                    5-1
16. Hillsdale                                  4-1
17. Minnesota State                     6-0
18. Embry-Riddle                          7-1
19. Upper Iowa                             6-0
20. Truman State                          4-2
21. Cal Poly Pomona                     4-1
22. Barry                                       5-0
23. Ferris State                              5-1
24. Dominican                               6-0
25. Miles                                       5-0

 
Around the GNAC
Basketball season is officially here. Heading into GNAC-play, here's where the rest of the conference stacks up after their non-conference start to the season. Central Washington holds the top-spot, going 3-1 to open up the year. Alaska Anchorage finds themselves 5-2 and Saint Martin's and Western Washington are above Alaska with 4-2 records. Seattle Pacific is currently 4-3. Simon Fraser is also 4-3 and Montana State Billings is 2-4. Northwest Nazarene is 1-3 and Western Oregon is currently 1-6.
 
Stats Update
Through six games, the Nanooks are led by Shadeed Shabazz in the scoring category. The senior guard from Seattle, Wash. is averaging 20.0 points per game on 120 points total. Alongside his ability to score, Shabazz leads the 'Nooks with 19 total steals on the season, the only Nanook with more than 10. He is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. Abdullahi Mohamed is leading the team in rebounds, averaging 5.7 per game. He's added 9.0 points per game through six games. Quin Barnard (12.7), Koby Huerta (11.2) and Coleman Sparling (10.3) are the other three Nanooks in double-digit scoring on the season. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, @AlaskaMensBasketball on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.