FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team put on a stifling defensive performance against Seattle Pacific in the first half before falling in the second half in the season's final game. The Falcons outscored Alaska by 11 in the second half, leading to a 62-56 loss for the 'Nooks. With the loss, the Nanooks fell to 8-18, 6-12 GNAC in their final game of the season.Â
The Falcons opened scoring on a 4-0 run, and Nick Hopkins answered with a three. Jaycson Bereal, Jr. added a layup for the early 5-4 lead. Bereal, Jr. answered a Falcon three with a three of his own. Abdullahi Mohamed added a fast break dunk for an early three-point lead, 10-7. Bereal, Jr. and Mohamed matched an SPU split pair of free throws with split trips to the line, pushing the lead to four. Mohamed came down and hit another jumper for an Alaska six-point lead, 14-8. SPU cut the lead in half with a three. Bereal, Jr. responded with a jump shot and one to stretch the lead back to six, 17-11. SPU scored a basket, and Mohamed answered with a three. Mohamed's three pushed him over 1000 career points with the Nanooks, the 16th 1000th-point scorer in Alaska's history. A 5-1 run from SPU cut the lead to three, 21-18. Mawich Kachjaani answered with a jump shot. An SPU jumper cut the Nanooks' lead to just two, and Bryan Nguyen went on a 3-0 run of his own to push the lead back to five, 26-21. Kachjaani matched an SPU basket to take a five-point lead to the half, 28-23.
Kachjaani opened the scoring in the second half with two free throws. SPU cut the lead to three after a 4-0 run. Demarcus Hall-Scriven and Mohamed went on a 6-2 run to push the lead to seven, 36-29. A SPU 6-2 run cut the Alaska lead to three, 38-35. Kachjaani, Nguyen and Mohamed responded with a 6-2 run of their own, pushing the Nanooks' lead back to seven, 44-37. SPU responded with a 12-0 run for a 49-44 lead. Two Nick Hopkins free throws stopped the run with 5:36 to go. SPU rattled off five straight for an eight-point lead. Demarcus Hall-Scriven matched an SPU three with one of his own to cut the Falcon lead to five. The Falcons hit a short jumper. Nguyen and Bereal, Jr. responded with a free throw and a jumper to cut the lead to just four, 56-52. Mohamed matched an SPU bucket with two free throws. This would be the closest the Nanooks would get, falling 62-56.Â
Mohamed led the way in scoring for the Nanooks with 17, adding five rebounds and two assists. He also added a block and a steal. Jaycson Bereal, Jr. added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Bereal, Jr. added two steals and one block in his final game with the Nanooks. Senior Mawich Kachjaani added eight points and six rebounds. Seniors Demarcus Hall-Scriven and Bryan Nguyen gave the Nanooks seven and six points each. The pair added eight and seven rebounds as well. Senior Nick Hopkins added five points and nine rebounds in his final game.Â
The loss wraps up the Nanooks' 2023-24 season.
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