SAINT LEO, Fla - The Nanooks could not hold on to a late four-point lead on Friday afternoon against Palm Beach Atlantic, surrendering five points in the final seven seconds of the contest to fall by one point to the Sailfish. With the 71-70 loss, Alaska drops to 5-5 on the year with a 1-1 record in GNAC play.

How it Happened
The opening five minutes saw two lead changes between the two sides, with the Nanooks leading early before six straight Sailfish points put them ahead 9-7. However, a Paul Johnson three put Alaska in front 12-11. Two more three-pointers from Jalai O'Keith helped the Nanooks on a 9-0 run, which saw their lead build to 18-11 with 6:47 gone. Alaska held the lead until the 10:15 mark when five unanswered Sailfish points gave them a 21-20 advantage. After five lead changes in the next 2:14, Johnson took the lead back after converting from the line, putting Alaska on top 28-27 with 8:01 left in the first. Despite a late 7-2 run for Palm Beach Atlantic, the Blue & Gold held a 37-35 advantage into the halftime break.

Johnson started the scoring in the second half with a layup, but the Sailfish would take the lead after five Tyler Burton points on back-to-back possessions put them up 41-40. Isaiah Saams-Hoy took the lead back on the following possession with a layup before a Ketan Sidhu dunk gave the 'Nooks a three-point cushion at the 16:21 mark. Despite Johnson connecting from distance for the Nanooks to put them up 48-44, a 7-0 Palm Beach Atlantic run put the Sailfish ahead 51-48 9:25 into the second. Elyon Zevenbergen helped tie things up with a layup before a Griffin Effenberger jumper saw Alaska take a 53-51 lead. Saams-Hoy followed with a fastbreak layup off of his own steal, giving the 'Nooks a 7-0 run to build their advantage to four. Alaska kept itself in front, with Johnson converting a four-point play to put the Nanooks ahead 67-60 with 2:45 remaining. Palm Beach Atlantic responded with six unanswered points to make it a one-point contest with 51 seconds left, but a Sidhu three-pointer put the 'Nooks back in front by four with 33 seconds to go. The Sailfish hit a three with seven seconds remaining, and after a missed Nanooks free throw, Palm Beach Atlantic ended the game on a buzzer-beater to hand the Nanooks a devastating 71-70 defeat.

Inside the Numbers

• Jalai O'Keith paced the squad with 16 points on the afternoon. The guard went 5-for-9 from the field while connecting on four of his six attempts from beyond the arc. He also tallied five rebounds, two steals and a block.
• Paul Johnson followed with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting and dished out four assists.
• Elyon Zevenbergen posted 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, going 5-of-7 from the field.
• Isaiah Saams-Hoy was the final Nanook to finish with double-digit points, posting 10 on 5-of-11 shooting. He led the team with six assists and three steals while grabbing seven rebounds.
• The Nanooks shot 48.2% from the field and 40.9% from three, compared to 38.7% and 26.9% for the Sailfish.
• Alaska was outrebounded 45-34 and trailed in second-chance points 20-5.

What's to Come
The Nanooks are in Florida for one more game, taking on the hosting Lions of Saint Leo University tomorrow at 9 a.m. AKT.

Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanooksMBB
X - @NanooksMBB
FB - Alaska Nanooks