FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will host the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks and Central Washington Wildcats for their 2021-22 home-openers. 

Jan. 13, 2022 vs. NNU Nighthawks
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Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center, Fairbanks, 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 15, 2022 vs. CWU Wildcats
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Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center, Fairbanks, 7:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of a heavyweight bout with the Western Washington Vikings on Jan. 8 in Bellingham, Wash. The opening 15 minutes was back-and-forth basketball. Shadeed Shabazz got the scoring started hitting a three to open up the game. The 'Nooks ran ahead 5-2 before WWU pushed back to tie the game at 10-10. Shabazz quickly answered back with a jumper regaining the lead for the Nanooks. A quick 6-0 run for Alaska gave them an 18-14 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the half. After trading buckets, the Vikings went on a run. They out to an eight-point lead behind three-straight field goals. 

The Nanooks hung around. Shabazz connected on a three and Coleman Sparling made a layup bringing Alaska back within five. Alaska used a pair of free throws by Quin Barnard to make it a one-point game but after Shabazz made it one point again, WWU ran out ahead, once again. This time they pushed ahead by a dozen before Koby Huerta made a jumper with 33 seconds making it a 10-point game heading into the locker room. Out of the break, Barnard stayed hot from beyond the arc. He hit one of this five three-pointers making it a seven-point deficit. At the 14:02 point of the second, Willie Thomas netted two free throws and Shabazz made a layup bringing Alaska back within four. 

They maintained their answers down the stretch, pulling even at the 8:13 mark with a Sparling three. Soon after, the Nanooks found themselves with the lead. They pushed their lead to five on a pair of Abdullahi Mohamed free throws but Western responded, tying the ballgame up at 89-89. Western snagged the next five points, taking a lead of 94-89 into the final moments. Barnard hit a three pulling the Nanooks within two, but after regaining possession, Shabazz's final look from deep, for the win, was just long, as WWU knocked-off the 'Nooks 94-92.

Shabazz ended the night with a game-high 30 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Barnard added 19 points on 5-9 from deep. Sparling posted 16 with eight rebounds and Willie Thomas III scored a dozen and grabbed seven boards.

Quick Hitters

• The Nanooks are lookign for their first win in GNAC play. 
• This weekend will be the first games the Nanooks are playing on their home-court. Outside of their scrimmage in early November, all scheduled home games have been canceled or postponed. 
• Shadeed Shabazz is finding his rhythm on the offensive end. The senior guard from Seattle, Wash. is averaging 20.2 points per game, the most in the GNAC and 36th in the NCAA DII. 
• 20 Points - Shabazz needs 20 points to hit the 1,000 mark in his career. He'll become the 15th Nanooks player to do so.
• Jahvonta Jones and Coleman Sparling are the top-two in field goal percentage for the Nanooks. Jones is shooting 50% from the field (11-22) while Sparling is shooting 46.8% (36-77).
• Koby Huerta is leading the way from deep, shooting a team-high 45.9% (17-37). Quin Barnard has the most makes from deep, connecting on 31 of 76 three-pointers so far. Huerta fifth in the GNAC in 3PT% while Barnard is second in made three-pointers in the GNAC. 
• Sparling is leading the way in rebounds, grabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. On the defensive side, he is averaging 4.3 and on the offensive end he's grabbing 2.6 per game.
• Willie Thomas III is averaging 0.4 blocks per game, recording three through seven games. 
• Shadeed Shabazz is working both ends of the court, averaging 2.8 steals per game with 25 through nine games. He also leads the way in assists, averaging 2.7 per game with 24 through nine. 
• As a team, the Nanooks are shooting 43.2% from the field. Their season-high for a game this season is 53.4% in their win over Sonoma State. They are also shooting 39.4% from deep on the season.
• The Nanooks are riding a four-game losing-streak to Northwest Nazarene. Their last win came on Feb. 10, 2018, a 67-53 win on their home-court. Since then, NNU has won by an average of 22.25 in the past four games.
• Central Washington won the last matchup on Feb. 13, 2020 with a 66-63 final. The Nanooks took the first matchup in the 2019-20 in Ellensburg, Wash. 78-60. Alaska's last win in Fairbanks came on Feb. 25, 2016; they beat Central that day 92-71. 

Scouting the Opponents 

Northwest Nazarene (3-5, 1-2 GNAC, 9th)
Northwest Nazarene finds themselves in the bottom half of the standings, just ahead of the Nanooks in ninth place. NNU is led by Gabriel Murphy on the offensive end as the big is averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting 56.5% from the floor. He is leading the Nighthawks in rebounds as well, grabbing 11.4 per game. 6.9 on the defensive end, 4.5 on the offensive end. George Reidy is the only other Nighthawks averaging over a dozen points per game with 12.1. He is shooting 32.1% from the floor. Two other Nighthawks are in double-digits; Christian Rose (10.4) and Tru Allen (10.1).

Northwest Nazarene kicked-off their season with a win over Bushnell University, a 101-91 OT win on Nov. 13. They then traveled to the 2021 Javelina Classic at Texas A&M Kingsville, they fell to Angelo State and the host school, Texas A&M Kingsville to fall to 1-2 on the season. Their first win of the year came against Montana State Billing following a loss to Azusa Pacific. The Nighthawks defeated the Jackets 68-67 in OT for their first GNAC win. They then fell to Seattle Pacific 68-67 in OT. They beat the College of Idaho 71-64 and lost to Central Washington on Jan. 1, 2022 89-76.

Central Washington (8-2, 2-1 GNAC, 2nd)
Central Washington currently sits in second-place in the early GNAC standings. The Wildcats are riding a four-game winning-streak. They started their 2021-22 season off with a 1-1 record, defeating Cal State Monterey Bay before falling to Cal State San Bernardino. Their next game after a three-game cancelation period, was on Nov. 26 against Westminster College. They won 80-68. They then beat Fort Lewis and Seattle Pacific before Montana State Billings ended their win-streak with a 66-64 win over the Wildcats. Since then, CWU has won against Pacific Lutheran, Walla Walla, Bushnell and Northwest Nazarene. 

The Wildcats are led by Xavier Smith, who through 10 games, is averaging 17.0 points per game. He is shooting 47.6% from the field while going 82.7% from the free-throw line. Next in line is David Thompson who is scoring 15.4 points per game while shooting 44.8% from the floor, 40% from deep and 83.3% from the line. Marqus Gilson holds the highest shooting percentage for the Wildcats, scoring 13.2 points per game while shooting 59.1% from the floor. He leads the Wildcats in rebounds, grabbing 5.5 per game. 

GNAC Standings

1. Simon Fraser, 6-3, 1-0 GNAC
2. Central Washington, 8-2, 2-1 GNAC
3. Saint Martin's, 9-3, 2-1 GNAC
4. Alaska Anchorage, 7-3, 2-1 GNAC
5. Western Oregon, 3-8, 2-1 GNAC
6. Western Washington, 8-4, 1-1 GNAC
7. Montana State Billings, 6-8, 2-2 GNAC
8. Seattle Pacific, 8-6, 1-2 GNAC
9. Northwest Nazarene, 3-5, 1-2 GNAC
10. Alaska, 3-6, 0-3 GNAC

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.