FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks battled with the top-team in the GNAC on Thursday night but the shorthanded Nanooks fell to SMU as the Saints ran away with a 59-74 victory. The Nanooks dropped to 7-14, 4-11 GNAC as they head into their final regular-season game on Saturday, Feb. 26.

After Saint Martin's scored the games' first bucket on a Jaden Nielsen-Skinner connected on a driving layup. The Nanooks answered with six-straight points on two Shadeed Shabazz buckets and a Jahvonta Jones layup. Abdullahi Mohamed followed up a Koby Huerta miss with a putback to push their lead to four. A Shadeed Shabazz three and Coleman Sparling layup pushed their lead to 15-7. SMU answered with their first run of the game. Five-straight points narrowed the 'Nooks lead to three before Shabazz snapped their run with a jumper. The Saints scored seven-straight to grab a 21-23 lead. Following a 25-25 tie, the Saints ended the first half on a 4-13 run. Shadeed Shabazz led the way with nine points at the break, shooting 4-9 from the field and 1-3 from deep. 

Three Nanooks scored six points as Willie Thomas III, Jones and Mohamaed all ended the half with six. As a team, the Nanooks outshot the Saints from the floor, 46.7% to 44.4%, but SMU connected on four three-pointers to the Nanooks' one. 

In the second, Kyle Greeley quickly extended the Saints' lead to a dozen, connecting on a three only 17 seconds into the second half. After the lead grew to 13, the 'Nooks cut it to nine on a Coleman Sparling bucket, and eventually eight on another Sparling field goal. The teams traded baskets until the 11:28 marker when Koby Huerta connected on a corner three-pointer, bringing the Nanooks within six. They would not draw any closer. The Saints' lead grew to 13 with 8:45 remaining. Down the stretch, SMU put the game away, pushing their lead to 17 before closing out a 15-point victory over Alaska. 

The Nanooks were led by 14 points from Shadeed Shabazz. He shot 6-16 from the field while grabbing six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Mohamed ended the night with 13 points, going 6-11 from the floor. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and blocked one shot. Koby Huerta and Thomas III ended the night with 10 points a piece. Willie Thomas III ended the night with a game-high four blocks while Shabazz ended with a pair of his own. 

The Nanooks return to action on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 3:15 p.m. for Senior Day against the Western Oregon Wolves. They'll celebrate Quin Barnard, Koby Huerta, Shadeed Shabazz and Coleman Sparling during the pregame following the Nanooks women's basketball game against WOU at 1:00 p.m.

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.