SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The Alaska Nanooks historic run came to an end in the 2022 NCAA DII West Regional Finals on Monday, March 14. The Nanooks, winners of their last seven, fell to the region's third-ranked team, the Chico State Wildcats, 52-70, ending their storied-season 14-15, 5-11 GNAC.

An early run was not enough for the Nanooks men's basketball team as Chico State took the momentum midway through the first and ended their run with a 10-point lead at the break. Following the momentum shift, Chico used a 29-37 second-half scoring advantage to pick up the 18-point win. 

Chico State opened up the scoring 1:33 into the game. It took Alaska nearly four minutes to get on the board when Shadeed Shabazz knocked down a pair of free throws, making it 2-3. After the Wildcats pushed ahead 4-9, the Nanooks made a 15-0 run, grabbing a 19-9 lead with 10:22 left to play in the first. 

That run was kicked off by a Willie Thomas III put back dunk, pulling the Nanooks within one at 8-9. Koby Huerta followed up with a three off a Tybenn Sturm offensive rebound and kick-out, making it 11-9, the Nanooks first lead of the game. Coleman Sparling followed with his second bucket of the night and first three, making it 14-9 'Nooks. Following a timeout by Alaska, Sparling grabbed a board off of a Chico State miss and connected from deep for his second three, giving him eight at the 10:56 mark. The run ended following a pair of Koby Huerta makes from the free-throw line. After being fouled from deep, Huerta hit two of three, making it 19-9 Nanooks. 

Chico State ran away with it from the 10:22 mark on. They turned the 10-point Alaska lead into their own 10-point lead at 23-33 heading into the locker room. The Wildcats used a 5-24 run to flip the script.

Out of the break the Wildcats opened the scoring again, this time with a Kelvin Wright Jr. dunk, extending their lead to a dozen. The two teams traded buckets until Chico State went on a 1-7 run, moving ahead by 17 with 12:36 left on the clock. The Nanooks continued to fight, but in the end, the deficit was too much. Chico ended the game on a 22-25 run from the 12:36 mark to the final buzzer. 

Coleman Sparling led the way for the Nanooks, ending his collegiate career with 13 points on 4-5 shooting and 3-4 from three. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and added one assist. Koby Huerta and Willie Thomas III each ended the night with 10 points. Thomas grabbed five boards, tallied a pair of steals, one assist and blocked one shot. 

This was the Nanooks third-ever trip to the Sweet 16 and first since the 2005 NCAA DII West Regional.

Koby Huerta and Shadeed Shabazz were both named to the 2022 West Regional All-Tournament Team. Over the course of the three games, Shabazz averaged 23 points per game while shooting 46.3% from the floor and 93.8% from the free-throw line. He grabbed 17 total rebounds for an average of 5.7 per game. He tallied 10 assists and picked up nine steals for an average of 3.0 per game. Huerta finished the Regional with an average of 13.3 points per game. He shot 41.2% from the floor, 44.4% from deep and 80% from the free-throw line. He added five rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Inside the Numbers

• Alaska was outshot 25.9% to 42.9% in the opening 20 minutes. 
• That number improved to 40.6% in the second half, but Chico State shot 6-12 from deep while the Nanooks made only two three-pointers.
• The Nanooks out-rebounded the Wildcats 36-33.
• Chico State won the turnover battle, 8-14, including six steals to the Nanooks two. 
• The Wildcats held the lead for 32:00 while Alaska held it for only 6:27.
• Chico State outscored the Nanooks off turnovers (4-16), in the paint (26-32), on second-chance opportunities (12-15), on fast breaks (0-7) and off the bench (12-20).

Postgame Interview

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.