FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will take on Portland Bible College in a pair of non-conference games at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center this weekend. 
 
Friday, Dec. 16
Portland Bible College | Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
7:00 p.m. | Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center | Fairbanks
 
Saturday, Dec. 17
Portland Bible College | Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
1:00 p.m. | Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center | Fairbanks
 
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are set to play for the first time in two weeks. Alaska split their GNAC opening weekend their last time on the court. On Thursday, Dec. 1, the Nanooks grabbed an eight-point win over the Seattle Pacific Falcons. Their 64-56 win was fueled by a spread offense that was led by 14 points by Abdullahi Mohamed and a dozen from freshman Tyler Mrus. Six other 'Nooks posted six or more points with Paul Johnson ending with eight on three field goals and a pair of threes. 
 
They followed up their Dec. 1 victory with a tight contest with the Montana State Billings Yellow Jackets. After trailing by five at the break, the Nanooks made a late push but fell 64-59 as MSUB moved to 2-0 in GNAC play. Mohamed led the 'Nooks again with 20 points and six rebounds while going 8-12 from the free-throw line and 6-9 from the floor. Jaycson Bereal, Jr. and Mrus added a combined 20 points, 10 from each, but in the end MSUB made one more field goal and three-pointer and outshot the Nanooks from the floor 45% to 38%. 

Canned Food Drive
Bring canned food or non-perishable food items to the Friday/Saturday games. After the weekend, the Nanooks will donate everything to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank. 
 
Non-Conference
These two games against Portland Bible will wrap-up the Nanooks non-conference schedule. Alaska is 3-3 in non-conference games through six NC contests. 
 
#NookNotes

• Abdullahi Mohamed is leading the Nanooks in scoring through eight games. The big has started seven of eight and scored 105 points for 13.1 per game. He's shooting a team-high 55% from the floor and 74.5% from the free-throw line. He's 4/4 from beyond the arc as well. 
• Tyler Mrus is the only other Nanook in double-digits, scoring 11.0 points per game while shooting 51.6% from the floor, 47.4% from deep and 86.7% from the line. He's also grabbed the second-most rebounds with 40, 11 offensive and 29 defensive for an average of 5.0/game. 
• Bryan Nguyen leads the team with 26 assists. Only two other Nanooks are in double-digits as Mohamed has 17 on the season and Isaac Garcia has 12. 
• Bereal, Jr. leads the 'Nooks with nine blocks on the season. His nine blocks and 1.29/game rank him fifth in the GNAC this season. He is 108^th in the NCAA Division II for blocks per game.
• Mohamed currently ranks fourth in the GNAC and 83^rd in Division II with 35 made free throws. He's also fourth in the conference in attempts and 11^th with a 74.5 FT%.
• Nguyen's 3.2 assists per game is ninth in the GNAC. 
• As a team, the Nanooks are 54^th in Division II in field goal percentage (47.8%) and 37^th in field goal percentage defense (40.1%). 
• Alaska is fifth in the NCAA Division II and leads the GNAC in team free-throw percentage. They are shooting 81.8% from the line.

 
Countdown to 23
Following their two games with Portland Bible College, the Nanooks will have nothing but GNAC conference games remaining. They'll ring in the new year at Alaska Anchorage. The Nanooks and Seawolves will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31 following the holiday break. This will begin a two-week road game period for the Nanooks as they'll stay on the road the following week, traveling to Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 5 and Central Washington on Jan. 7 before playing at home for the first time in 2023 on Jan. 12, 2023 when they welcome Simon Fraser to town. 
 
Change of Schedule
The Nanooks game at Central Washington on Saturday, Jan. 7 has officially been moved to Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash. due to ongoing construction and renovations at Central Washington's Nicholson Pavilion. The game time will remain 5:15 p.m. AKT/6:15 p.m. PST.
 
Current GNAC Standings
1.Saint Martin's (8-1, 2-0 GNAC)
2.Montana State Billings (7-3, 2-0 GNAC)
3.Western Washington (7-1, 1-0 GNAC)
4.Seattle Pacific (6-3, 1-1 GNAC)
5.Western Oregon (4-3, 1-1 GNAC)
6.Alaska (4-4, 1-1 GNAC)
7.Northwest Nazarene (4-5, 1-1 GNAC)
8.Simon Fraser (3-5, 0-1 GNAC)
9.Alaska Anchorage (4-5, 0-2 GNAC)
10.Central Washington (2-7, 0-2 GNAC)
 
D2SIDA West Region Poll
The GNAC had four teams in the week five D2SIDA West Region Poll. 
 

West	Team (First-Place Votes)	Record	Points	Previous
1	Cal State San Bernardino (5)	6-1	59	1
2	Saint Martin's (1)	9-1	55	2
3	Western Washington	6-1	43	T3
4	Point Loma	8-3	41	6
5	Cal Poly Pomona	6-1	40	5
6	Azusa Pacific	8-3	32	T3
7	Montana State Billings	7-3	18	7
8	Biola	7-3	17	8
9	Hawai'i Hilo	5-1	16	T10
10	Seattle Pacific	6-3	7	T10
RV	Academy of Art - 2; Cal State San Marcos – 1

 
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.