BURNABY, B.C. - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team enjoyed a coast-to-coast victory against the Simon Fraser Red Leafs on Saturday, Feb. 11, 75-58. The win improved the 'Nooks to 10-12, 5-9 GNAC on the season.
After a scoreless first minute by either side, Tyler Mrus dropped in a lay-up to open the scoring. A quick 7-0 run, including a Paul Johnson three, an Abdullahi Mohamed jumper and another Mrus layup, matched an SFU answer. SFU cut the lead to three with 12:52 remaining in the first half. The 'Nooks responded by rattling off five straight, culminated by a Jaycson Bereal Jr and-one, to extend the lead to eight, 20-12. SFU came down and hit a layup, Isaac Garcia would have an answer, scoring five straight Alaska points, including a three, to give the Nanooks an 11-point lead, 25-14. After a Mohamed and-one kept the lead at 11, the Red Leafs went on a 7-0 run, cutting the lead to 28-24 with 3:17 remaining in the half. Four straight Nik Hopkins points brought the lead back out to eight. However, the Red Leafs would not go away, cutting the lead back to six again. Bryan Nguyen would respond for Alaska, giving them a 34-28 lead, remaining into the second half.
Out of the break, a 6-0 run pushed the Alaska lead to its highest point yet at 14, 40-26, thanks to two Mrus layups and a pair of Hopkins free throws. Either team would trade buckets for the majority of the second half. A Nik Hopkins dunk with 5:21 remaining gave Alaska a 60-49 lead. However, SFU would not quite quit, running off a 5-1 run to cut the lead to seven. Again, Alaska would answer as a Hopkins free throw followed by two Mrus free throws once again pushed the lead to double-digits. The lead would remain at double digits until an SFU basket with 1:43 remaining cut the lead to nine, 67-58. A late 8-0 run, capped off by another Hopkins dunk, stretched the Alaska lead to 17, 75-58, to end the game.
The Nanooks had four players in double figures and two just a point away. Hopkins led the way with 18 points, shooting a sweltering 6-8 from the field and 6-7 from the charity stripe. Mohamed added 12 of his own, adding nine rebounds in the contest. Johnson and Mrus added 10 a piece. Nguyen and Bereal Jr each had nine as well. Alaska shot a strong 26-32 from the free throw line, double the free throw total of Simon Fraser.
The Nanooks return home for their final two home games of the 2022-23 season with a match-up against Western Oregon in their Pink Game on Thursday, Feb. 16, before wrapping up the home campaign with Senior Day Saturday, Feb. 18 against Saint Martin's.
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.
