FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks men's basketball team ends its regular season on the road with contests at Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. The 'Nooks face the SMU Saints in a battle for the sixth and final seed in the GNAC playoffs on Thursday evening, and end the regular season against the WOU Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday, Feb. 27
at Saint Martin's | 6:30 p.m. AKT | Watch | Live Stats
Lacey, Wash. | Marcus Pavilion

Saturday, Mar. 1
at Western Oregon | 3:15 p.m. AKT | Watch | Live Stats
Monmouth, Ore. | New PE Building

Last Time Out
The Nanooks grabbed two crucial wins last week, taking down the Seattle Pacific Falcons 71-60 on Thursday and the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets 72-64 on Saturday.

The 'Nooks opened up a 32-20 halftime lead over the Falcons, but an 8-0 SPU run made it a one-possession game with 5:31 remaining. Isaiah Saams-Hoy hit a pair of free throws, and Jalai O'Keith followed with a three, giving the Blue & Gold a 56-48 advantage. From there, Saams-Hoy took over, connecting from beyond the arc before posting a pair of layups to give Alaska a double-digit lead it would hold on to for the remainder of the game. Chris Lee led the charge with 22 points on the evening, going 7-14 from the floor, 3-6 from three and 5-6 from the line. He picked up five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Saams-Hoy followed with 17 points on 7-12 shooting. He led the team with two steals while tallying seven rebounds, three assists and a block. The 'Nooks went 25-55 from the floor (45.5%), 8-23 from beyond the arc (34.8%) and 13-16 from the charity stripe (81.3%).

Alaska closed out its home schedule with a 72-64 victory over Montana State Billings. The Yellowjackets held a 27-21 lead at the halftime break and would build their advantage to double digits after scoring the first four points of the second half. Later in the period, Griffin Effenberger knocked down a jumper and a three-pointer to tie the game at 39, and Saams-Hoy gave the 'Nooks the lead with a put-back layup. O'Keith would score the next six points for the Blue & Gold, and Chris Lee followed by drilling threes on the next three possessions to give the Nanooks a 56-45 lead. From there, the Blue & Gold saw out the win from the free throw line, scoring their final 11 points from the charity stripe. O'Keith led the Nanooks with 20 points on an efficient 8-11 shooting performance from the field. He also led the team in steals with two and tied for the team lead in rebounds with nine. Saams-Hoy followed with 18 points and nine rebounds. He led the team with five assists and two blocks. Chris Lee was the final Nanook to reach double-figure scoring, posting 14 points. The 'Nooks went 25-57 (43.9%) from the field and 7-26 (26.9%) from three. They knocked down 15-22 (68.2%) attempts from the free-throw line.

#NookNotes

• Alaska and Saint Martin's both sit at 8-8 in GNAC play, tied for the sixth and final seed in the GNAC playoffs.
• Isaiah Saams-Hoy is Alaska's leading scorer this season and sits seventh in the GNAC with 16.1 points per game.
• He ranks ninth in the conference in assists per game with 3.5, sixth in blocks per game with 1.08, fifth in field goal percentage at 50.5% and eighth in rebounds per game with 6.2.
• Chris Lee is averaging the most assists on the team, posting 3.7 per game to put him seventh in the GNAC.
• Jalai O'Keith ranks third in the conference in rebounds per game, grabbing an average of 7.1 boards. His 5.38 defensive rebounds per game are also third-best in the GNAC.
• Paul Johnson is knocking down 2.45 threes per game, leading the 'Nooks and ranking fifth in the conference.
• The 'Nooks are knocking down the most three-pointers per game in the GNAC (9.8) at the second-best clip in the conference (36.9). These marks put them 23rd and 53rd in Division II.

Meet the Opponents
Saint Martin's (19-10, 8-8 GNAC)
Head Coach: Aaron Landon (6th Season)

The Saints have dropped their last four games entering the contest against the Nanooks. They are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, grabbing 40.8 boards per game. That ranks first in the GNAC and 16th in Division II. SMU is led by senior guard Myles Samuels, who averages 12.3 points per game this season.

Western Oregon (4-22, 1-15 GNAC)
Head Coach: Wes Pifer (6th Season)

The Wolves dropped their two games last week, falling to Central Washington 89-69 and Northwest Nazarene 74-62 on the road. They are led by senior guard Jason Gallant, who is averaging the eighth-most points per game in the GNAC with 15.8. He has played the third-most minutes in the conference and 60th-most in the country, averaging 34:56 of action per game.

GNAC Player of the Week
Isaiah Saams-Hoy was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, Feb. 24. This is Saams-Hoy's first-career GNAC weekly honor and is the first weekly honor earned by the Alaska Nanooks men's program this season. Saams-Hoy played a pivotal role in the Nanooks sweeping their two home games this past weekend against Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. In 34.5 minutes per game, he finished the weekend averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game alongside only one turnover. He shot 52.2% from the floor and 90% from the free-throw line.

GNAC Standings

1. Central Washington (19-7, 13-3 GNAC)
2. Northwest Nazarene (18-6, 11-5 GNAC)
3. Seattle Pacific (15-13, 11-6 GNAC)
4. Western Washington (18-8, 10-6 GNAC)
5. Montana State Billings (19-11, 10-7 GNAC)
6. Saint Martin's (19-10, 8-8 GNAC)
7. Alaska (12-13, 8-8 GNAC)
8. Simon Fraser (9-17, 5-11 GNAC)
9. Alaska Anchorage (11-18, 4-12 GNAC)
10. Western Oregon (4-22, 1-15 GNAC)

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