LACEY, Wash. - In what will likely be the GNAC game of the season, decade, and possibly the century, the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team ran off the court at Marcus Pavilion victorious over the Saint Martin's Saints on Thursday, Feb. 27. Alaska won the 4OT game 123-115 over the Saints to move to 13-13, 9-8 GNAC.

How it Happened
Alaska's offense came out firing in the first half, taking a 10-point advantage into the locker room at 41-31. The Saints slowed the Nanooks down enough to catch up and force the first overtime at 80-80. They'd head to a second OT tied at 87-87 before going to a third at 98-98. The third overtime was not enough as both posted eight points and took a 106-106 tie into a fourth overtime where the Nanooks ran away from SMU, outscoring the Saints 17-9 to overcome the home team and grab the historic victory in Lacey, Wash. 

In the first half, Ketan Sidhu opened the Nanooks scoring with a three from Isaiah Saams-Hoy to make it 4-3 Saints. Paul Johnson quickly responded with a three of his own, pulling the Nanooks to within two at 8-6. Johnson quickly set the tone for the night he'd end up having, scoring two more buckets, one layup, and another three, making it a 13-11 SMU lead with 15:50 on the clock. SMU's lead grew to six at the 14:14 mark, but a pair of buckets by Griffin Effenberger and Elyon Zevenbergen made it 19-18. Moments later, Zevenbergen gave the Nanooks the lead at 22-21, nearing the midway point of the first. Isaiah Saams-Hoy extended it to three a possession later, making it 24-21 Nanooks at the 9:56 mark of the first. After the two sides traded leads and ties, the Nanooks knocked down four-straight threes to end the half, running out to a 10-point lead. Paul Johnson connected from deep with 3:43 remaining in the half before Chris Lee made it a four-point lead. Off of a turnover, Jalai O'Keith hit a transition three, making it 38-31 Alaska. Exactly one minute later, with 1:35 left in the half, Isaiah Saams-Hoy closed out the first half with a three, making it a 41-31 halftime lead for the Nanooks. Out of the locker room, Myles Samuels of SMU quickly cut the Nanooks lead to eight, opening the second with a three. Chris Lee answered right back, picking up where the first ended. 

The two sides traded baskets for the opening five minutes of the second, including the Nanooks extending their lead to a game-high 13 at the 15:07 mark. With 12:05 left in regulation, the Saints cracked the deficit to single-digits and pulled to within nine points. They'd pull to within two before Elyon Zevenbergen closed the run, scoring and pushing the lead back to four with eight and a half remaining and getting fouled. After completing the three-point play, it was a five-point lead for the Nanooks. Alaska would continue to fend off the Saints' runs, but SMU finally pulled even at 71-71 with 3:13 left in the second. Alaska quickly answered, going on a quick 4-0 run to regain a two-possession lead. Down the stretch of regulation, SMU found an answer to every Alaska bucket, and after getting fouled with eight seconds remaining, the Saints knocked down a pair of free throws to force OT tied at 80-80. In the first overtime period, Elyon Zevenbergen opened the scoring up with a dunk on the Nanooks first possession. The Saints grabbed the next four points before Zevenbergen tacked on another bucket, tying the game at 84-84. Diego Trejo-Delgado hit a jumper 19 seconds later, giving SMU the lead back before Saams-Hoy drove the lane strong, got fouled, and finished the and-one. He knocked down the free throw and gave Alaska the one-point edge with 2:04 left in overtime number one. After nearly two minutes of scoreless basketball, the Nanooks fouled SMU's Dyson Lighthall with 15 seconds left, sending the big man to the line. He knocked down one of two before Sidhu grabbed the rebound for Alaska. While grabbing the board, he was fouled and was sent to the line. Unfortunately, he missed both free throws, and SMU did not capitalize on their last-second opportunity, sending the game to a second overtime. SMU got the jump on scoring first in the second OT, grabbing a quick 89-87 lead. Isaiah Saams-Hoy hit a pair of free throws to even things up again. Moments later, Griffin Effenberger connected from deep, giving the Nanooks a 92-90 lead only a minute and a half into the overtime period. Neither team held a lead bigger than two in the entire second overtime period; with 25 seconds left, Paul Johnson hit a three off of a pass from Jeremiah Hersrud, giving the Nanooks a 98-96 lead. Unfortunately, with seven seconds remaining in 2OT, the Nanooks fouled Marcel Stevens and sent him to the line. He knocked down both free throws, sending the two teams to a third overtime. 

The third overtime saw both teams put up eight points. After jumping ahead by four, the Nanooks managed to take a five-point lead at 106-101 with 1:22 remaining. Marcel Stevens quickly answered with a three-pointer, making it a 106-104 game before Jayshawn Moore tied the game at 106-106. Chris Lee had a last-second look for the Nanooks in the third OT but missed, sending the Nanooks and Saints to a fourth overtime period. 

In the fourth, the Nanooks found a second life, despite four players fouling out of the game. They outscored SMU 17-9 in the fourth overtime, using a layup from Chris Lee and a three from Griffin Effenberger to take an early four-point advantage. After Saint Martin's battled back to tie the game at 111-111, Paul Johnson hit another clutch trey, making it 115-112 Alaska. Four made free throws from Effenberger and a pair from Lee extended the Nanooks lead to nine with 45 seconds remaining. SMU's Jayshawn Moore scored the final three points for the Saints, but the comeback was out of question this time as the Nanooks pulled away, winning 123-115.

Inside the Numbers

• Tonight's matchup between Alaska and Saint Martin's was the third-ever GNAC game to reach a fourth overtime. Alongside that stat, this was the first-ever 4OT game for the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball program. They are now 2-0 all-time in games going at least 3OT. Their previous record was 3OT, on Feb. 13, 2014, at NNU. The Nanooks defeated the Nighthawks 108-104.
• Alaska had five players score 18+ points tonight. They were led by 28 from Paul Johnson. Johnson went 10-17 from the floor, 7-10 from three, and 1-2 from the free-throw line. He grabbed five rebounds and added three assists in the win. He added 13 points in the four overtime periods. 
• Isaiah Saams-Hoy was one of four Nanooks to foul out in tonight's matchup. He finished the night with 26 points on 8-15 shooting. He hit only one three, but went a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line. He grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds for a double-double effort and added six assists, two blocks, and a steal. 
• Elyon Zevenbergen had 19 points off the bench for the Nanooks. The big went 7-8 from the floor, grabbed six boards, had an assist, and one blocked shot. Griffin Effenberger joined him off the bench with a big game, adding 18 points in the win. He went 3-7 from beyond the arc and 7-8 from the charity stripe. He matched Saams-Hoy's team-high six assists, grabbed a board, and had a steal. 
• Chris Lee matched Effenberger with 18 points. He had five makes from the floor, went 6-8 from the line, and added a double-double with 10 rebounds. He had a pair of assists, one block, and one steal in the victory. Jalai O'Keith was the final starter to crack double-digits; in just 16 minutes, he had 11 points on 3-4 shooting, including 2-2 from deep and 3-3 from the free-throw line.
• For the game, the Nanooks outshot the Saints 48.1% to 39.4%. Additionally, they bested Saint Martin's from deep 44.4% to 19.4%, making 10 more threes than the Saints. Alaska made 16 three-pointers tonight, tying their season-high. The 27 assists for Alaska also matched their season-high. 
• There were 16 total ties in tonight's game, and nine total lead changes. Alaska's bench stepped up, especially late with four Nanooks fouling out. They outscored the SMU bench 37-26, including an 8-3 advantage in the fourth overtime. 
• Saint Martin's held the edge on the glass, 59-50, but the Nanooks bested the Saints in assists (27-24). 

GNAC Four Overtime Games
Tonight was the third-ever GNAC game to reach a fourth overtime. Take a look below at the other two before tonight's matchup.

1. Feb. 20, 2003: at Seattle Pacific 113, Humboldt State 108
2. Dec. 15, 2006: Cal State Monterey Bay 126, Western Oregon 122 (at Chico, Calif.)
3. Feb. 27, 2025: Alaska 123, at Saint Martin's 115

Historic Showing
The Nanooks posted 123 points in tonight's victory. That total is the fourth-most points scored in a single game by a Nanooks men's basketball team. 

All-Time Nanooks Single Game Points

1. 129 vs. Sheldon Jackson (1990-91)
2. 125 vs. Lancaster Bible (2006-07)
3. 124 vs. Multnomah (2012-13)
4. 123 vs. Pillsbury Baptist (1998-99) & vs. Saint Martin's (2024-25)

What's to Come
The Nanooks turn their attention to Saturday afternoon at Western Oregon. Alaska enters the final game of the regular-season 13-13, 9-8 GNAC. A win over the Western Oregon Wolves will secure a spot in the 2025 GNAC Men's Basketball Championships. Alaska and Western Oregon tips off at 3:15 p.m. AKST at the New PE Building on WOU's campus in Monmouth, Ore. 

GNAC Standings

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

* - Clinched GNAC Championships Berth

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