ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Nanooks men's basketball team (2-3, 0-0 GNAC) kicked off the Sprite Tundra Tip-Off on Friday vs. Westmont (2-3, 0-0 PacWest), where the Blue & Gold would fall in a hard-fought contest against the Warriors, 72-66.
How it Happened
The Nanooks jumped out to an early 8-3 lead after Tyriq Luke and Davis Crilly connected on shots from three-point range. The 'Nooks kept scoring from three, as Luke added another before Jalai O'Keith sank two straight from deep, helping the Nanooks build a 17-8 lead and forcing a Warriors timeout at the 13:29 mark. However, 10 straight Westmont points saw their lead evaporate over the next four minutes. Luke ended Westmont's run with a three, and Crilly sank one of his own on the following possession. O'Keith knocked down a three and a layup to tie the game at 31 in the final minute of the half, but Westmont countered with a layup to take a 33-31 lead into the break.
Crilly opened the second by draining a three to put Alaska back in front, but a 6-0 run for the Warriors put the Nanooks behind by five. Mike Miller got the Nanooks within one after two free throws and a jumpshot in the paint, while Crilly and Luke kept the 'Nooks in it with two and three-pointers. Luke Fotheringham converted a three-point play to make it 51-49 with 12:20 left, and back-to-back Crilly baskets brought the deficit down to one. Crilly would eventually give the Nanooks the lead by draining another three, putting the Blue & Gold ahead 62-61 with 5:50 left in the game. Following a 5-0 Westmont run that saw the Warriors retake the lead, Tariq Weiser and O'Keith tied the game at 66 from the free throw line. However, the Nanooks could not score over the final two minutes of action, and six Westmont free throws gave them the six-point win.
Inside the Numbers
- Davis Crilly led the team with 19 points, going 7-12 from the field and 5-10 from three-point range. He grabbed four rebounds, dished an assist, blocked a shot and collected a team-high two steals.
- Jalai O'Keith and Tyriq Luke both had 16 points and two assists. O'Keith shot 5-11 from the field and 4-7 from three and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Luke went 5-15 from the field and 4-12 from deep and finished with two rebounds.
- Tariq Weiser led the team with seven assists and collected four rebounds.
- The Nanooks shot 21-64 (32.8%) from the field, 13-36 (36.1%) from three and 11-14 (78.6%) from the free throw line.
- Alaska grabbed 37 rebounds to Westmont's 41.
- The 'Nooks led in points off turnovers (16-10), second chance points (10-8), bench points (19-9) and fast break points (9-7), but trailed in points in the paint (34-14).
- There were nine lead changes in the game.
What's to Come
The Nanooks conclude the Sprite Tundra Tip-Off tomorrow afternoon when they face Cal Poly Humboldt at 5:15 p.m.
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