FAIRBANKS – The Nanooks men's basketball team fell to Montana State Billings on Saturday, Dec. 3, 64-59, falling to 4-4, 1-1 GNAC on the season. This game concluded the 'Nooks first-half GNAC games – their next conference game will be Dec. 31 at UAA.
 
MSUB took a five-point lead into the halftime break, shooting 46.4% from the floor to the 'Nooks 42.8%. The Yellow Jackets also hit one more three than Alaska in the first, connecting from downtown three times to the Nanooks two. In the second, MSUB shot 43.4% from the floor and the Nanooks shot only 34.4%; the two teams both posted 30 points in the second half and MSUB left with the five-point win to move to 6-2, 2-0 GNAC.
 
In the first, the two sides traded buckets for the opening four minutes. At the 15:35 mark, Abdullahi made a pair of free throws, two of his eight made on the night, making it 9-5 Alaska. He followed that up with a layup 30 seconds later, making it 11-7 'Nooks. Carrington Wiggins tied the game for MSUB at the 11:19 mark with a three-pointer, tying it at 14-14 before Jaycson Bereal, Jr. got on the board with a jumper. He followed up with another make, making it 18-16 Alaska before MSUB grabbed a two-point lead back a minute later. MSUB extended their lead to four before making it a five-point lead heading into the locker room on a Jalen Tot free throw. 
 
Out of the break, Tyler Mrus connected from deep, making it a two-point game. MSUB responded, growing their lead to seven at the 15:01 mark. After two and a half minutes of no buckets, MSUB connected, making it a nine-point lead. They then went on a 9-0 run, making it a 13-point lead at the 50-37 mark on a dunk by Emmanuel Ajanaku. Despite the deficit, the 'Nooks responded down the stretch. They made it a 10-point deficit on a Jordan Kanoe jumper with 4:37 on the clock; this sparked a strong run as Kanoe followed up with a three-point play, pulling Alaska within seven at 55-48. Mrus then made it a five-point lead with a fastbreak bucket off of a Kanoe block and Demarcus Hall-Scriven assist. This forced MSUB to take a 30-second timeout.
 
The Yellow Jackets grew their lead back to eight out of the timeout, but the Nanooks responded again. Hall-Scriven connected from the deep corner with 48 seconds left in regulation, making it 60-55 and then forced a turnover on the inbounds pass. After getting a hand on the pass, Hall-Scriven saved the ball from going out of bounds, found Jaycson Bereal, Jr., who then found Mrus for a dunk with 43 seconds left, making it 60-57. 
 
A Nanooks foul sent MSUB to the line resulting in two made free throws at the 29 second mark. Bereal then went coast-to-coast for a dunk, pulling the 'Nooks within three at 62-59 with 23 seconds left but that was all the 'Nooks could get. Another foul sent MSUB to the line and Carrington made both, making it 64-59 Billings. A missed jumper from Hall-Scriven and an MSUB rebound ended the game, dropping the 'Nooks to 1-1 in GNAC play and to 2-2 on their home court. 
 
Abdullahi Mohamed led the way for Alaska with 20 points on 6-9 shooting. He added 8-12 shooting from the free-throw line while grabbing six boards, dishing two assists and collecting a steal. Bereal and Mrus joined him in double-digits, posting 10 each. Bryan Nguyen dished a team-high four assists and Nick Hopkins added five rebounds. 
 
The Nanooks are back in action on Dec. 16-17 when they host Portland Bible College for a two-game non-conference weekend. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball program, follow @NanooksMBB on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.