LACEY, Wash. - The Nanooks men's basketball team fell to the Saints of Saint Martin's on Saturday, Feb. 24. With the loss, the Nanooks are now 8-16, 6-10 GNAC.

SMU improved to 21-5, 11-5 GNAC on the season. 

Despite holding the Saints to 38.10% from the floor in the first half, the Nanooks trailed by 19 at halftime. Alaska managed only 25 shots to SMU's 42. The Saints held Alaska to just 8-25, including 2-11 from three. Unfortunately, the Saints made eight more shots in the first half. Alaska tied the second half 46-46, falling 86-67.

In the first, Jaycson Bereal, Jr. got the 'Nooks on the board with a layup at the 18:24 mark to tie the game at 2-2. This tie would be the last time Alaska was within striking distance as SMU quickly ran their lead into double-digits, 19-2. Abdullahi Mohamed hit two free throws after a scoreless stretch from both teams. SMU would respond, stretching the lead to 19, 23-4. Three straight from Mohamed cut the lead to 16. After trading baskets, Trey Anderson cut the lead to 13 on a three-pointer. SMU would again respond with a three. Mohamed went on a 5-2 run out of the media timeout to cut the lead back to 13, 32-19. This would be the closest the Nanooks would get before SMU stretched the lead to 21. Nick Hopkins hit a jump shot with six seconds remaining in the half to cut the lead to 19, 40-21.

The Nanooks started slow to begin the second half, going scoreless over the first 3:30. Bereal, Jr. got the 'Nooks on the board with two free throws, but not before the Saints' lead ballooned to 27. Back-to-back Bereal, Jr. threes ignited the Nanooks, cutting the lead to 20 on a pair of Hopkins free throws, 53-33. SMU continued on, stretching the lead to 29 on an 11-2 run. A barrage of baskets from Bereal, Jr. and Demarcus Hall-Scriven cut the lead to 19, 66-47. The two teams would go back and forth before the Saints stretched the lead to 21 with 3:07 remaining. A late Alaska run saw the lead dwindle to just 13. This would be the closest the Nanooks would get, as the Saints would pull ahead by 22 before Hall-Scriven hit a three with 25 seconds remaining for a final score of 86-67.

Bereal, Jr. led the Nanooks with 16 points on 5-11 shooting and a 5-5 performance from the free-throw line. He added nine rebounds and four assists while adding two blocked shots and a steal. Mohamed, Hopkins and Hall-Scriven joined Bereal, Jr. in double figures with 15, 13 and 10, respectively. Hopkins led the way with 10 rebounds for a double-double. 

The Nanooks welcome Montana State Billings for Pink Game and a Pink Rally Towel Giveaway and Seattle Pacific for Senior next week to wrap up the season. 

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