FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will celebrate their group of seniors with Saint Martin's and Western Oregon in town for a two-game week. 
 
Thursday, Feb. 24 vs. Saint Martin's
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Tickets >> bit.ly/nanooks-tickets
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium, 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, Feb. 26 vs. Western Oregon
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Live Stats >> https://bit.ly/3HsxRKV
Tickets >> bit.ly/nanooks-tickets
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium, 3:15 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
The deep ball spelled the end for the Nanooks as Anchorage made 19 three-pointers in the game. Nine came in the first half as the 'Nooks trailed by 26 heading into the locker room. Alaska opened up with an early lead two minutes in, as Tybenn Sturm made it 5-4 on a fastbreak bucket. UAA answered back, retaking the lead. Shadeed Shabazz connected from deep 4:30 into the first half, tying the game at 11-11, but that was the last time the Nanooks were able to be equal with the Seawolves. UAA used three three-pointers to grow a lead of six before extending it to 24 on a 24-5 run on five three-pointers and nine field goals. 

That lead grew to 26 at the break. The Nanooks posted solid numbers in the first, shooting 41.6% from the field and 50% from deep, but UAA shot 58.8% from the field and 52.9% from three for their lead. 

The Nanooks managed to outscore the Seawolves in the second half, but UAA went 13-24 from the field and 10-14 from three, leading to the 72-95 win. Abdullahi Mohamed scored 14 second-half points to lead the 'Nooks and Shadeed posted eight, but Alaska as a team shot 14.3% from deep. 

Mohamed led the way for the Nanooks, finishing the night with 17 points, including 9-10 from the free-throw line. He grabbed nine boards and added one assist. Shadeed Shabazz posted 14 points with two threes, two assists and three steals. Coleman Sparling and Jahvonta Jones were the final two Nanooks in double-figures, scoring 12 and 11, respectively. Sparling also grabbed nine, tying him for the team-high.
 
Quick Hitters

• The Nanooks are looking to snap a three-game losing skid that featured two single-digit losses to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene on the road before falling to Alaska Anchorage.
• They're led by Shadeed Shabazz with 18.8 points per game. He's shooting 42.9% from the floor and 31.7% from deep. 
• Quin Barnard follows in scoring with 12.6% while shooting 44.5% from deep on 65 makes. 
• Koby Huerta and Coleman Sparling are both averaging 10.3 points per game. Sparling is shooting the second highest percentage from the court at 45.6%. 
• Abdullahi Mohamed leads the way from the floor, shooting 46.2% with 66 made field goals. Mohamed is averaging 9.6 points per game and 5.2 boards per game. 
• The Nanooks have a 1.2 turnover margin. They're forcing nearly 14 turnovers a game with 13.9, and turning the ball over less than 13 times a game with 12.7.
• They're averaging 6.7 steals per game.
• Alaska is riding a four-game winning-streak on their home court. They're looking to keep that trend with Saint Martin's and Western Oregon coming to town. 

 GNAC Standings

1. Saint Martin's, 17-7, 10-5 GNAC
2. Alaska Anchorage, 13-7, 8-5 GNAC
3. Northwest Nazarene, 10-8, 8-5 GNAC
4. Central Washington, 14-7, 8-6 GNAC
5. Seattle Pacific, 14-10, 7-6 GNAC
6. Montana State Billings, 12-13, 8-7 GNAC
7. Western Washington, 14-12, 7-9 GNAC
8. Simon Fraser, 11-12, 6-9 GNAC
9. Western Oregon, 6-16, 5-9 GNAC
10. Alaska, 7-13, 4-10 GNAC

 PRC Rankings
The GNAC Men's Basketball Points Rating System will be updated following the conclusion of the regular-season this weekend. 
 
Scouting the Opponents 
 
Saint Martin's Saints (17-7, 10-5 GNAC)
The Saints are riding a three-game winning streak following their one-point loss to Simon Fraser on Feb. 10. They went into Bellingham and knocked off the Western Washington Vikings by 18 before escaping with two wins over Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. Against NNU, the Saints pulled out a 78-75 win on a last-second shot for the win. Against CWU, the Saints took a four-point lead into the locker room and that was all they needed in their four-point win. 
 
SMU has three players scoring over 13 points per game. Alex Schumacher leads the way with 14.5 points per game while shooting 46.4% from the floor, 46.8% from deep and 85.2% from the free-throw line. Schumacher adds 5.0 boards per game, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Brett Reed follows up with 14.0 points per game and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 57.4% from the floor. Kyle Greeley is the final Saints player in double-digit scoring with 13.3 points per game on 51.8% shooting from the floor and 43.5% from deep. 
 
Western Oregon Wolves (6-16, 5-9 GNAC)
WOU is 3-1 in their last three games, claiming wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington but falling to Northwest Nazarene. They picked up a pair of wins over WWU on Feb. 10 and Feb. 21, beating the Vikings by two on the road in Bellingham, Wash., before beating them by 24 on Feb. 21 for the season-sweep of WWU. Following their first WWU game, the Wolves traveled to Simon Fraser and came away with a 13-point win. Their CWU home game was canceled and they followed the cancellation up with a 64-72 loss to Northwest Nazarene. 
 
Cameron Cranston leads the way for Western Oregon with 18.8 points per game through 22 games. He's shooting 45.7% from the floor while adding a 42.2% from deep. He's grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. John Morrill-Keeler is the only other WOU player in double-digits, scoring 11.2 points per game while shooting 52.5% from the floor. He's grabbing a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game, 1.1 steals, 1.0 assists and 0.7 blocks. 
 
Senior Night
On Saturday, Feb. 26 against Western Oregon, the Nanooks will celebrate four seniors. Quin Barnard, Koby Huerta, Shadeed Shabazz and Coleman Sparling will all have their final games in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium. 
 
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.