FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks men's basketball team heads to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington this week to open up their 2023 portion of the schedule. 

Thursday, Jan. 5
Northwest Nazarene | Live Video | Live Stats
5:30 p.m. AKT | Johnson Sports Complex | Nampa, Idaho

Saturday, Jan. 7
Central Washington | Live Video | Live Stats
5:15 p.m. AKT | Big Bend CC | Moses Lake, Wash.

Central Update
Due to ongoing construction and remodeling at Central Washington's Nicholson Pavilion, the game against the Wildcats has been moved to Big Bend Community Collge in Moses Lake, Wash.

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of their loss at Anchorage on New Year's Eve night. The Nanooks traveled south to UAA but fell 81-59 to the Seawolves. They trailed by 10 at the half, 44-34, but were outscored 37-25 in the second to fall by 22. Tyler Mrus led the 'Nooks offensively with 14 points on 5-8 shooting and 1-2 from deep while grabbing a pair of rebounds. Jaycson Bereal, Jr. added eight points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in the loss while Abdullahi Mohamed ended with a team-high nine rebounds, four points, and one assist, block and steal. 

#NookNotes 

• As a team, the Nanooks are 69th in the nation in assists per game and seventh in the conference with 15.4/game. 
• They are 15th in the nation in field goal percentage and second in the GNAC, shooting 50.5% as a team. Seattle Pacific leads the conference with a 52.4 shooting percentage. 
• Alaska is also top-15 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 38.4% shooting. This leads the GNAC and places them 12th in the nation. 
• The 'Nooks are 10th in the nation and first in the GNAC in free throw percentage, shooting 79.5% from the line. Spring Hill leads the nation with an 82.5% team percentage. 
• The team is 11th in the nation in rebound margin at 9.5. This leads the GNAC. Cal State San Bernardino leads the nation with a 14.6 margin. They are 36th in the nation for defensive rebounds per game with 27.91 and 102nd in the nation with an average of 37 rebounds per game. 
• Alaska's defense has led them to the top scoring defense in the conference and 19th in the nation. They allow 62.5 points per game while scoring 72.6 a game. Their scoring margin of 10.2 is 54th in the nation and fourth in the conference. 
• They are shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc which is 41st in the nation and second in the conference. They are holding opponents to 29.4% from deep, good for 27th in the nation and top in the conference. 
• Alaska is forcing the second-most turnovers in the conference with 15.64 - this is good for 72nd in the nation. 
• Three Nanooks are hovering around the top-five in many conference categories. Bryan Nguyen is ninth in assist/turnover ratio with 1.28 and he's fifth in both total assists and assists per game. He has 44 assists on the season, good for 4.0 per game. 
• Jaycson Bereal, Jr. currently sits in fourth in the GNAC in defensive rebounds per game, grabbing 5.30 per contest. He is also fifth and sixth in blocks per game and total blocks. He's averaging 1.20 blocks per game aith 12 blocks on the season. 
• Abdullahi Mohamed is currently grabbing the fifth most offensive rebounds per game in the conference with an average of 2.10. He also gets to the line the sixth-most in the conference with 52 attempts from the free-throw line. He's made 37 this season, good for the seventh-most in the GNAC. 

Scouting the Opponents

Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (4-8, 1-3 GNAC)
NNU comes into tomorrow's matchup riding a three-game losing streak. Their last win came on Dec. 10, 2022 at home against George Fox, a 73-58 victory. They fell to Texas A&M Int'l on Dec. 19, 2022 at home, 54-51 before getting back to GNAC play on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, 2022. They fell on the road twice, first at Seattle Pacific on Dec. 29, dropping the game by 10 at 79-69. They then battled with Montana State Billings in Billings, Mont. but fell by six in Alterowitz Gymnasium. MSUB escaped with the 54-48 win over NNU, dropping them to 4-8, 1-3 GNAC. 

The Nighthawks are led by Tru Allen, who through 12 starts in 12 games, is averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting 29.4% from the floor, 25.8% from deep and 75% from the free-throw line. Allen has taken and made the most field goals (48-163) and has made the second-most three pointers for NNU (16-62). Allen leads the team in steals with 25. Gabriel Murphy follows with 11.7 points per game in 10 starts and games played. Murphy is shooting a team-high 59.5% from the floor and grabbing a team-high 9.2 rebounds per game on 31 offensive boards and 61 defensive rebounds. Murphy is tied with Christian Rose with eight blocks on the season. Kobe Terashima is the top-distributor for the Nighthawks with 44 assists on the season through 12 games and starts. 

Central Washington Wildcats (4-9, 0-4 GNAC)
Central Washington will play UAA before facing the Nanooks on Saturday, Jan. 7. They are currently riding a two-game losing streak after falling at Montana State Billings (63-47) and at Seattle Pacific (93-84). Their last win came on Dec. 19, 2022 against Walla Walla in an 87-59 victory. CWU is currently 0-4 in GNAC play, having lost to Western Oregon in their GNAC-opener on Dec. 1, 2022 (69-67) and at Saint Martin's on Dec. 3, 2022 (71-66). 

Camron McNeil is leading CWU in scoring through 13 games and eight starts. He is averaging 15.1 points per game behind 196 total points while shooting 50.6% from the floor, 43.8% from deep and grabbing 3.6 boards per game. Matt Poquette follows with 13.2 points per game while shooting 55.8% from the floor and 73.7% from the free-throw line. He's grabbing a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game and has dished out 22 assists. Brock Gilbert leads the distribution with 69 assists through 11 games and eight starts. Isaiah Banks leads the team defensively with 17 steals through 13 games and starts. 

GNAC Standings

1. Saint Martin's (12-2, 4-0 GNAC)
2. Montana State Billings (10-4, 4-0 GNAC)
3. Seattle Pacific (8-5, 3-1 GNAC)
4. Western Washington (9-4, 2-1 GNAC)
5. Western Oregon (5-6, 2-2 GNAC)
6. Alaska Anchorage (7-5, 1-2 GNAC)
7. Alaska (6-5, 1-2 GNAC)
8. Northwest Nazarene (4-8, 1-3 GNAC)
9. Simon Fraser (5-8, 0-3 GNAC)
10. Central Washington (4-9, 0-4 GNAC)

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.