SEATTLE, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team advanced to the 2022 GNAC Championship semifinals and will face the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 

"I thought that was a great team win. We are peaking at the right time." said head coach Greg Sparling following his team's victory, "We beat a very, very good Northwest Nazarene team. I thought Abdullahi Mohamed had his best game in a Nanooks uniform, posting 32 points and 10 rebounds."

Northwest Nazarene led heading into the break, 30-32 and held an early 2-6 lead in the opening minute and a half. Shadeed Shabazz put the 'Nooks on the board with a driving layup. Following his make, he went on a run, scoring nine of their first 12 points and single-handedly giving the Nanooks a 12-8 lead. Abdullahi Mohamed got on the board with 13:59, making it 14-10 Alaska. He then followed up with a three-pointer, his first of the season and first of the night, making it 17-11. Quickly, the Nanooks found themselves up 22-11 on a Coleman Sparling put-back.  NNU used the next six minutes to make a strong run, cutting the deficit to one with 3:45 remaining in the half. Following a media timeout, the Nighthawks came out and knocked down a three-pointer for a two-point lead at 26-28. 

Tybenn Sturm answered, hitting his first field goal of the night to even it up at 28-28. After trading a pair of baskets, the Nighthawks took the lead with 25 seconds left to take a 30-32 lead into the half. 

Heading into the locker room, the Nanooks were led by Shadeed Shabazz with 11 points while shooting 40% from the floor. Mohamed had nine first-half points and five rebounds. At the beginning of the second, Alaska ran back ahead, taking a six-point lead four and a half minutes into the second half. Mohamed connected on nine quick points out of the break, giving him 18 with 15:41 left in regulation. Sturm followed up with another bucket, making it an eight-point lead on his second field goal of the night. 

In the blink of an eye, Alaska made it a dozen-point lead in the matter of five minutes, stretching it to 55-53 with 10:49 left on the clock. Shabazz and Mohamed extended it to 17 on back-to-back buckets before a free-throw from Mohamed made it an 18-point advantage. NNU made a small run, pulling back within 14 with 4:37 remaining but a Mohamed steal and Shabazz fast-break bucket closed the door on the comeback. After pushing their lead back to 17, Willie Thomas III put down an emphatic alley-oop from Shabazz off of a steal to make it 75-56 with 3:23 remaining. 

The Nanooks ran away with the 21-point victory over Northwest Nazarene, advancing them to their second-consecutive GNAC Championships semifinals game and giving them their first victory over NNU since Feb. 10, 2018 when Alaska won 67-53 in Fairbanks. 

Mohamed led the 'Nooks with 32 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, his third of the season. He added three steals and one assist in the win. Shadeed Shabazz followed up his 41-point performance a night ago with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists and steals. Coleman Sparling was the final Nanook to score in double-digits, posting a big 18 points on 5-7 shooting, including three three-pointers and five made free-throws on six attempts. Sparling added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

"In all honesty, this one felt amazing. Wow. The number two team, and last time I thought I played pretty well against them but we couldn't clutch out the W...we have a bunch of guys from Seattle so playing the playoffs at Seattle Pacific meant even more for us." said Mohamed about his performance in the win, "We had a great win yesterday over Simon Fraser but this one just felt a little more special because we haven't' beat them all season...coming in as the underdogs, it's actually a great thing, we have nothing to lose but we have everything to gain."

Mohamed ended the night with a career-high in points, made field goals and made threes.

The Nanooks are back in action tomorrow, March 4 at 4:15 p.m. where they'll take on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in the GNAC Championship semifinals in Lacey, Wash. at the Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's. 

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.