SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Nanooks men's basketball team fell to the Saint Leo Lions on Saturday in Saint Leo, Fla. The loss drops the Nanooks to 5-6, 1-1 GNAC, and ends the 2024 portion of their schedule.

How it Happened
The Nanooks got on the board first with an Elyon Zevenbergen bucket on their first possession. Paul Johnson then followed with a layup to make it 4-2 Nanooks in the opening two minutes. Saint Leo quickly jumped out to a seven-point lead, using a 9-0 run to make it 11-4. Johnson snapped that run with a three, cutting the deficit to four. Saint Leo's momentum stayed throughout the remainder of the first half as they ran out to an 11-point lead at 20-9 before stretching it to as many as 16 in the first. The Nanooks' deficit at half was 14 at 46-32.

At the break, Isaiah Saams-Hoy led the 'Nooks with seven points while Elyon Zevenbergen added six. Three Nanooks had five at the half after shooting 41.9% from the floor. Saint Leo shot 52.9% from the floor, besting the 'Nooks offensively. 

In the second, Alaska pulled to within 10 on another Zevenbergen bucket, followed by a Jalai O'Keith three and Paul Johnson jumper. Following another Johnson jumper at the 14:40 mark, Saint Leo went on an 11-0 run, growing their lead to 66-41. Saams-Hoy broke the drought with a layup from Chris Lee. Unfortunately, the Nanooks played from behind the remainder of the game, eventually falling by 17 as Griffin Effenberger knocked down a three with 36 seconds remaining.

Inside the Numbers

• Shiloh Zevenbergen led the way off the bench with 12 points. He went 4-10 from the floor and 3-3 from the free-throw line. 
• Elyon Zevenbergen added 10 points and eight rebounds on 5-11 shooting. He picked up a pair of steals and a block. Jordan Gill also grabbed two steals in today's game.
• Jalai O'Keith also finished with 10 points. He went 2-5 from three and grabbed six rebounds while dishing an assist and picking up a steal. 
• Alaska outrebounded Saint Leo 41-34 and grabbed 15 offensive boards. Both Elyon and Shiloh Zevenbergen had a team-high three offensive rebounds.

What's to Come
The Nanooks are off for the remainder of the calendar year and will pick up again at Western Washington and Simon Fraser on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4 to restart GNAC play. 

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