FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought battle against Simon Fraser on Thursday evening, falling in overtime by a final of 77-74. With the loss, Alaska falls to 9-10, 5-5 GNAC.
How it Happened
Simon Fraser opened up a 19-11 lead over the Nanooks after the opening 9:28, with Elyon Zevenbergen posting seven of Alaska's 11 points. SFU maintained its eight-point advantage at 21-13 with 9:42 until halftime, but a 14-6 run saw the Nanooks tie the game at 27. Paul Johnson posted eight points during the run, with triples on back-to-back possessions cutting the deficit to two before a Zevenbergen layup leveled things with 3:40 remaining. Jalai O'Keith gave the 'Nooks the lead with a layup, and Isaiah Saams-Hoy added to it with another layup. Johnson notched another three, and Chris Lee knocked down a buzzer-beater to send Alaska into the halftime break ahead 36-29.
The Red Leafs scored the first seven points of the second half, tying the game at 36. Johnson connected on another attempt from beyond the arc, but SFU established a 44-40 lead after scoring eight of the following nine points. The Nanooks kept it close, including cutting the deficit to one after a dunk by Lee made it a 48-47 contest, but they could not put themselves in front, and they found themselves trailing 62-56 with 2:31 to go. Saams-Hoy sank a three to make it a one-possession ballgame and added a jumper with 14 seconds left to make it 62-61. SFU connected from two attempts at the free throw line, but Saams-Hoy stole the ball off a Red Leaf pass and drilled a three with four seconds remaining to tie the game at 64. After a Simon Fraser miss, the game headed to overtime.
The first five points of overtime came from the line, with SFU knocking down four of them to take a three-point lead. O'Keith drained a three to tie the game, and a pair of Saams-Hoy free throws gave Alaska the lead. However, the Red Leafs scored the next four points and took a 75-72 lead with 13 seconds left. Despite a Saams-Hoy layup, the Nanooks could not get the game-tying shot to fall and dropped a 77-74 overtime decision.
Inside the Numbers
- Paul Johnson led the way with 20 points on 7-17 shooting, going 4-11 from downtown. He grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists.
- Isaiah Saams-Hoy followed with 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds. He led the team in blocks (2) and steals (4).
- Jalai O'Keith and Elyon Zevenbergen both posted 12 points, a block and a steal. Zevenbergen grabbed 13 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
- Chris Lee dished out a team-high eight assists while finishing with seven points and five rebounds.
- Alaska posted shooting splits of 36.8% and 28.1% in the contest.
- The Nanooks led in points off turnovers (14-9), points in the paint (36-26) and second-chance points (13-10).
- They grabbed 45 rebounds to Simon Fraser's 39.
What's to Come
The Nanooks are in action on Saturday with a contest against the Western Washington Vikings. Tip-off is set for 2:15 p.m.
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