LACEY, Wash. - Resiliency.
That's the word that describes the 2021-22 men's basketball team.
March 5, 2022 will go down in history for the Alaska Nanooks as they were named the 2022 GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Champions with a 72-57 victory over the Central Washington Wildcats and only seven players making an appearance in the box score. Heading into the break, CWU used a three-quarter court shot to take a 27-28 lead into the locker room. After the one-point deficit, the Nanooks used a 45-point second half to run away with the 15-point victory.
After a slow start from both sides,
Coleman Sparling started the scoring with a three-pointer against his former team. Matt Poquette answered with a bucket for CWU, making it 3-2 Alaska. Through the first six minutes, the offense was slow-coming as Alaska used a three from
Abdullahi Mohamed to go up 10-4. Alaska used another Mohamed bucket to extend their lead to a first-half high of nine at the 8:40 mark before CWU made their first run of the night. They quickly pulled within two at the 4:34 mark, riding a 4-11 run over a four minute span. Sparling snapped the run, hitting his second three of the night to grow the lead back out to five at 25-20. CWU answered again, this time to tie it up at 25-25.
Willie Thomas III got himself on the board with 38 seconds remaining in the first half, giving Alaska a two-point lead before CWU struck back.
After a missed three-pointer from
Shadeed Shabazz, Amari Stafford grabbed a rebound for CWU, hitting Xavier Smith on the outlet. The 2021-22 GNAC Men's Player of the Year put up a prayer from the other side of the court and banked in a buzzer beater to give CWU a 27-28 advantage after 20 minutes.
At the break, Alaska was led by nine points from
Abdullahi Mohamed on 4-7 shooting.
Shadeed Shabazz and
Coleman Sparling both added six a piece.
To open up the second half, the Nanooks moved back ahead and quickly found a five-point lead 5:23 into the half. Following a Shabazz fast break, he followed it up with another bucket, this time on a second-chance from a Sparling offensive-board, his 11th rebound of the night. Quickly, the Nanooks offensive power was in full motion. Mohamed took a Shabazz steal and converted it into a dunk making it 45-37 with 12:36 remaining in regulation. CWU made a response, pulling within three after a Poquette dunk, but
Koby Huerta, Mohamed and Thomas III extended their lead back to eight in just over a minute. After hovering near a double-digit lead, the Nanooks broke through and made it a 14-point lead on a pair of
Jahvonta Jones free-throws that made it 60-46. Three minutes later, Huerta gave the Nanooks their biggest lead at 17, making it 68-51 with 2:24 left on the clock.
In the final two minutes, the Nanooks' bench and crowd were on their feet. They could feel the Cinderella story coming full circle. When the final buzzer sounded, blue and gold swarmed the Marcus Pavilion court and celebrated a 72-57 victory over the Central Washington Wildcats.
For the first time since 2005, the Nanooks were on top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. This title is the Nanooks first in the tournament era and third overall, having won the GNAC title in 2003 and 2005.
This, compared to other years, is a historic run for the Nanooks men's basketball program, a #10-seed winning it all to advance to the 2022 NCAA West Regional, "I couldn't be more proud of these guys, they stepped up when they needed to. We came in as a 10, everyone said we were the most scary team in the tournament and we proved it." Head coach
Greg Sparling was proud of what his team brought into the tournament despite being the last-seeded team, "I couldn't be more happy. You know, four games in four days in two different venues, that shows maturity in this team and now we just need to keep moving forward."
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball now awaits their fate in the 2022 NCAA DII Selection Show which will air on Sunday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. AKT. With the win, the Nanooks earned the Great Northwest Athletic Conferences automatic bid and will find out who they face tomorrow night.
Shadeed Shabazz led the way for the Nanooks with 19 points. He added nine rebounds, four steals and four assists while being named the GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament MVP for his performances in the four games. Mohamed added 15 points on 6-11 shooting while grabbing six boards and blocking two shots.
Koby Huerta was the final Nanook in double-digits, scoring 10 points and picking up five boards.
Coleman Sparling posted eight points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
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.
