FAIRBANKS – The Alaska men's and women's basketball teams are hosting the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational this weekend. 
 
The 2022 Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational welcomes six teams from all around the country. This season's Invitational will feature both a men's and women's tournament. On the men's side, the Nanooks men's basketball program will welcome the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Great Northwest Athletic Conference), Texas A&M International (Lone Star Conference) and the Westminster Griffins (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).

On the women's side, the Nanooks women's basketball program will welcome the Montana State Billings YellowJackets (Great Northwest Athletic Conference), Post University (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference) and the Salem Tigers (Conference Carolinas).
 
MBB

• The Nanooks look to obtain their first win against Westminster College. Alaska last faced off against Westminster in 2019, falling 89-77.
• Alaska will seek a win in their first-ever matchup against Texas A&M International. 
• Freshman forward Tyler Mrus leads the way in scoring for the 'Nooks so far, averaging 12.5 through the first four games. He's also adding four rebounds and a steal per contest, shooting a sweltering 60/57/92 in the early season. Mrus is coming off an 18-point performance in the win versus CSUEB. 
• Jaycson Bereal, Jr and Bryan Nguyen join Mrus in the double-figure club on the season, averaging 12 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Nguyen also adds 4.0 assists per night, leading the way for Alaska. 
• Bereal co-leads the way for the 'Nooks in rebounding, averaging 6.3 per game. Nick Hopkins joins Bereal with 6.3 rebounds as well. 

WBB 

• The Nanooks face off against both Post University and Salem University for the first time in program history. 
• Junior guard Emma McKenney leads the Nanooks in scoring thus far, averaging 19 a game, including a 26-point performance in the Nanooks' last game. McKenney also hit seven three-pointers in the previous game. 
• Destiny Reimers, Kayla Johnson, and Ellen Silva join McKenney in averaging double figures in points thus far. Reimers, Johnson and Silva are averaging 12.7, 12 and 11.7, respectively. 
• Both Silva and Johnson are nearly averaging a double-double with 9.7 and 9 rebounds a game. 
• Head coach Amy Donovan will be coaching her first home games in her Alaska career. Donovan also seeks her first win with the program in the early season. 

Mt. McKinley Bank
We'd like to extend a big thank you to Mt. McKinley Bank for yet another year as the title sponsor for the North Star Invitational. Your continued support of the women's basketball program in the past and now the men's basketball program for the 2022 Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational has not gone unnoticed. You continue to go above and beyond and we thank you. Who is Mt. McKinley Bank? 

Mt. McKinley Bank is the oldest and largest local financial institution in Fairbanks. For over 50 years we have provided millions of dollars in residential mortgage financing offering in-house loans and local servicing in our effort to provide the best possible customer service. Today, our goals as a mutual bank are the same as they were in 1965: to pay our customers the highest possible return on their deposit investments and to provide lending and banking services at the lowest possible cost.
(https://www.mtmckinleybank.com/about/our-history)

2022 Women's Teams

Alaska Nanooks | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

Montana State Billings YellowJackets | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

Post University Eagles | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

Salem University Tigers | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

2022 Men's Teams

Alaska Nanooks | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

Texas A&M International University Dust Devils | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

Westminster College Griffins | Roster | 2022-23 Schedule

Ticketing
Tickets can be purchased through the Alaska Nanooks Box Office. Call the Box Office at (907) 474-6665 or contact the Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities, Operations and Ticketing, Ryan Lahr, at (907) 474-1889 for more information. Day passes are available for the two-day event and can also be purchased online following this link (CLICK HERE)

General Admission Tickets: $20
Senior (60+), Youth, Military, Staff/Faculty: $15

Tournament Schedule
Friday, November 25
Session One
12:00 p.m. | Alaska Anchorage (Dark Jersey) vs. Westminster (Light Jersey) | Patty Center
2:30 p.m. | Alaska (Light Jersey) vs. Texas A&M Int'l (Dark Jersey) | Patty Center
5:00 p.m. | Montana State Billings (Light Jersey) vs. Salem University (Dark Jersey) | Patty Center
7:30 p.m. | Alaska (Light Jersey) vs. Post University (Dark Jersey) | Patty Center
Saturday, November 26
Session Two
12:00 p.m. | Alaska Anchorage (Dark Jersey) vs. Texas A&M Int'l (Light Jersey) | Patty Center
2:30 p.m. | Alaska (Light Jersey) vs. Westminster (Dark Jersey) | Patty Center
5:00 p.m. | Montana State Billings (Dark Jersey) vs. Post University (Light Jersey) | Patty Center
7:30 p.m. | Alaska (Dark Jersey) vs. Salem University (Light Jersey) | Patty Center
*Note: despite jersey color, Alaska will always be the home team

Follow Along
All games will be live streamed on the Alaska Nanooks YouTube page for FREE (CLICK HERE). Live stats will also be available for free to all media members and fans in the public. The Nanooks Sports Information Department uses SideArm Live Stats as their landing page for live stats. For all live stats follow the two links (WBB Live Stats) & (MBB Live Stats)