LACEY, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team fell to the Saint Martin's Saints on Jan. 19, 2023 to fall to 7-9, 2-6 GNAC. 

Alaska trailed by only four points at the halftime break, making it 38-34 after the opening 20 minutes, but nine missed free throws and zero made threes in the second half saw the 'Nooks get outscored 44-29 and fall 82-63 to the Saints. Saint Martin's got the scoring started with a pair of made free throws but Bryan Nguyen answered with five of the next seven points on a fast break bucket and three to make it 7-2 Nanooks in the opening two minutes. Jaycson Bereal, Jr. followed up an SMU bucket with a jumper, extending the lead back to five with 16:12 on the clock. Alaska held on to the lead for the next two minutes until the Saints tied the game at 15-15 on a Branden Bunn three-pointer in transition. The Nanooks grabbed the lead back and ran out ahead by four on multiple occassions before SMU took the lead at 25-23 with 8:01 left in the first. 

Their lead quickly reached nine with 4:33 and 3:17 left in the half but Alaska used a strong final two minutes to pull within two with 53 seconds left. Unfortunately the Saints hit one last bucket with 45 seconds remaining to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room. 

Out of the break, the Nanooks quickly tied it at 38-38 using a Tyler Mrus jumper and Nick Hopkins layup. Over two minutes passed until the next field goal, a layup from Hunter Sipe of SMU. That layup proved to be the go-ahead bucket as the Saints led the rest of the game. Following the tie, they posted an 11-0 run to take a 49-38 lead before Bereal, Jr. broke the scoreless streak with a layup from Tybenn Sturm. After falling behind by 19, the Nanooks managed to find their stride again, going on a run with 10 minutes remaining. After chipping away at the lead, Bereal, Jr. made it a nine-point deficit with 6:25 left on a layup. Paul Johnson would knock down a free throw shortly after, making it a nine-point deficit again with 5:49 to play, but that was the closest the Nanooks would get down the stretch. Saint Martin's stretched their lead out to 19 to grab the 82-63 win on their home court. 

Alaska was led by Abdullahi Mohamed who posted 18 points on 7-15 shooting. He grabbed three rebounds, dished two assists and picked up a block and steal. Bereal, Jr. ended the night with 15 points on 7-11 shooting. He grabbed four boards, blocked a pair of shots and tallied an assist and steal. Mrus was the third and final 'Nook in double-digit scoring, posting 10 and three rebounds. 

The Nanooks are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Western Oregon in Monmouth, Ore.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.