FAIRBANKS – The Nanooks men's basketball team earned their third win on the season over Westminster on Saturday, Nov. 26, wrapping up their slate of games in the Mt. McKinley Bank Northstar Invitational. The 72-65 win moved the Nanooks to 3-3, 0-0 GNAC on the season.
 
The Nanooks knocked-off the Westminster Eagles behind a well-rounded offensive attack that saw three players in double figures and six with eight points or more. Bryan Nguyen led the way for the 'Nooks with 15 points, including three three-pointers. Demarcus Hall-Scriven and Jaycson Bereal Jr. added 13 and 10 points, respectively. At the break, the Nanooks held a 35-27 lead before securing their win in the second half, 72-65. 
 
Demarcus Hall-Scriven got the Nanooks scoring started :18 into the game. The two traded buckets and leads through the opening fourteen minutes in the first half. At the 6:03 mark of the first half, Bryan Nguyen knocked down two free throws giving the Nanooks a 22-20 lead. They extended their lead to 27-22 on a Jaycson Bereal Jr. free throw before Westminster got back on the board with a jumper. Bereal added a team-high seven rebounds, as well as two assists and two blocks. 
 
The Nanooks continued to battle for the rest of the half, going on a 5-0 run in the last minute thanks to a Tyler Mrus three-pointer and a Hall-Scriven jumper. The two late half jumpers gave the 'Nooks a 35-27 lead heading into the half. 
 
The Eagles came out trying to claw their way back into the game in the second half. However, the 'Nooks had a response for every Westminster run. The Nanooks kept their lead above ten points for the majority of the half. 
 
Midway through the second half, a 6-0 Westminster run shrunk the Alaska lead to just four points with 11:52 remaining. Three consecutive jumpers by the 'Nooks culminated with a deep Nguyen three, pushed the Alaska lead back to 10 points. 
 
The Nanooks' defense locked up for the rest of the half, even pushing the lead to 12 on multiple occasions before garbage time baskets cut the lead to seven to end the ball game, 72-65. 
 
Alaska's defense held the Eagles to just 37 percent shooting on the night from the field and 25 percent from three. The cold shooting also translated to the free throw line, as the Eagles shot just 61.5 percent. The Alaska offense helped their case by shooting 53/50/82 as a team, including three more made threes than Westminster. 
 
Paul Johnson and Tyler Mrus nearly had 10 points on the night, with nine and eight, respectively. Mrus added four rebounds and an assist. After a scorching evening the night before, Abdullahi Mohamed produced a well-rounded stat line with six points, six rebounds and five assists. 
 
The Nanooks will stay in Fairbanks for their conference opener, with two games on Thursday and Saturday. Alaska will host Seattle Pacific University Thursday, Dec. 1st, at 7:30 p.m., and they will host Montana State Billings on Saturday, Dec. 3rd, at 5:15 p.m.
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.