BURNABY, B.C. - Despite a strong offensive outing for the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, they fell to 4-8, 1-5 GNAC with a 79-76 loss to Simon Fraser on the afternoon of Jan. 18. 

It was a game of runs in the first half, leading to a four-point lead at the break for SFU. After another half of runs in the second and some strong scoring down the stretch, the Nanooks pulled themselves back into the game but fell by three.

In the first half, Shadeed Shabazz and Quin Barnard led the Nanooks in scoring with 11 and eight a piece. On the other side, Simon Fraser was led by Wilfried Balata who posted 12. Fresh off the opening-tip, SFU had themselves a 6-0 advantage. Shabazz cut that in half with a three-pointer and the Nanooks first points nearly five minutes into the game but SFU quickly responded for another three of their own. After SFU pushed ahead by six, the Nanooks responded with seven-straight that ended on a Barnard three, grabbing their first lead of the night at 10-9. The two traded buckets and leads for the next few minutes as Alaska grabbed their biggest lead of the half at four with 7:44 remaining on a Koby Huerta three-pointer. SFU answered, going ahead by seven on two separate occasions to close out the half before taking a four-point advantage into the locker room. 

Coming out of the break, the Nanooks were able to pull within two on three-straight possessions but SFU answered every other time down the court. In the second half, Shabazz and Barnard led the way again, this time around, Shabazz posted 17 points in the half and Barnard posted another eight. With 12:54 remaining in regulation, SFU's lead grew out to 11 on a Josiah Mastandrea three-pointer. Alaska weathered the storm, however, and made a run to tie it at 71-71 on a pair of Shabazz free throws. They then took their first lead of the second half on a Barnard three, making it 74-73 with 2:38 left on the clock. 

A foul by Alaska and two free throws gave SFU back the lead at 75-74 before they'd extend it to three on a tip-in by their big Julian Roche. Shabazz answered with what turned out to be Alaska's last bucket. SFU made it a three-point lead one last time and a last-second three-ball from Shabazz was no good.

Shabazz ended with a game-high 28 points while shooting 8-20 from the floor, 2-6 from deep and 10-11 from the free-throw line. He posted an impressive five steals and added two rebounds and one assist. Quin Barnard ended with 16 on 5-6 shooting while going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. Willie Thomas III was the only other Nanook in double-digits, scoring 10 points and grabbing five boards while blocking four shots. Coleman Sparling grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. 

Alaska will return home after playing their rescheduled game in Burnaby, B.C. and will face Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 5:15 p.m. AKT in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium in the Patty Center. 

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.