FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks men's hoops team knocked-off their in-state rivals on Saturday, Jan. 28. The 'Nooks used an impressive offensive outburst to grab the 89-79 win over Anchorage, moving to 8-10, 3-7 GNAC on the season.
Alaska used a 59% shooting percentage in the first half to hold a 40-34 lead at the break. UAA hit five more threes than the 'Nooks in the second-half, but an 18-19 shooting performance from the free-throw line played a key part in the Nanooks grabbing the 10-point win.
Tyler Mrus opened the scoring for the Nanooks, hitting a jumper a minute into the game.
Nick Hopkins followed with a jumper, making it 4-0 Alaska with 17:50 left to play in the first. UAA responded with back-to-back three-pointers taking an early 6-4 lead. The two traded buckets but the Nanooks hit a run to jump ahead by six at 14-8 on a
Jaycson Bereal, Jr. three. UAA pulled within two at 18-16 before a pair of
Abdullahi Mohamed free throws pushed the lead back to four. Alaska flipped the script and grew their lead out to 12 at the 7:03 mark.
As the half drew to an end, UAA pulled within one but a
Tybenn Sturm jumper and
Bryan Nguyen free throws pushed it back to an eight-point advantage before the 'Nooks held a six-point lead at the half.
Out of the break, Alaska maintained their lead for the entire second-half. They quickly grew their lead to 11 behind a Mrus three and layup, going up by double-digits again. A Hopkins layup off of a Nguyen miss made it a 13-point lead with 16:37 remaining and forced UAA into a 30-second timeout. The two teams traded buckets and the Seawolves pulled to within nine on a Sawyer Storms three, but Mrus responded with his own, making it a 56-44 lead. That lead was extended to 15 on a
Paul Johnson jumper and Bereal jumper.
UAA went on an 8-0 run, pulling within seven at 60-53; Alaska tightened up and pushed their lead back to 15 with an 8-0 run of their own. Down the stretch, the Seawolves connected on another small run, this time pulling within six with 2:02 on the clock. Mohamed ended the run by the Seawolves with a layup. In the final two minutes, the Nanooks had an answer for every UAA bucket, grabbing a 10-point win at 89-79.
Bryan Nguyen led the way with 22 points on 4-6 shooting while going 11-11 from the free-throw line. He grabbed a pair of rebounds, dished an assist and picked up a steal.
Tyler Mrus finished with 18 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing two assists and two steals and blocked a shot. Mohamed scored 14 and grabbed four boards.
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.
