FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team fell to the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Saturday, Feb. 4 69-54. The loss dropped the 'Nooks to 9-11, 4-8 GNAC on the season.
Alaska trailed after the first 39-28. They made a small run in the second but NNU outscored the Nanooks 30-26 to grab the 15-point win.
Abdullahi Mohamed got the 'Nooks on the board with a jumper 1:30 into the game. Following an answer by NNU,
Paul Johnson connected from deep before
Tyler Mrus followed with his own three-ball, making it 8-7 Nanooks. After falling behind,
Bryan Nguyen connected with his own three, tying the game at 11-11. The two teams traded baskets until Timothy TenKley made it a four-point lead for NNU with a jumper at the 12:37 mark of the first. Their lead grew to six before stretching to 14 on a Yaru Harvey jumper, making it 30-16 NNU. Mrus cut the run, hitting a jumper to make it 30-18 but the 'Nooks could not get within 11.
Mrus ended the half with another jumper to make it a 39-28 lead for NNU after 20 minutes of play.
In the second, NNU's lead quickly grew to 22 in the opening three and a half minutes. Alaska used a small run to cut into the deficit, making it a 16-point game on a pair of
Jaycson Bereal, Jr. free throws, a Bereal jumper and free throw and a
Nick Hopkins free throw. A few moments later, they managed to cut the lead to 15 at the 10:38 mark on a pair of Mrus free throws. Eventually
Nick Hopkins made the deficit a dozen, but it was too-little, too-late for Alaska as NNU grabbed the win in Fairbanks.
Mrus led the way with 15 points on 5-10 shooting and 4-4 from the free-throw line. He added six boards and two assists. Mohamed went for 14 points as the only other 'Nook in double-digits. He shot 3-6 from the floor but went 8-10 from the stripe.
The Nanooks hit the road for a matchup with WWU and SFU on Feb. 9 and Feb. 11.
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.
