FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team (8-5, 3-1 GNAC) trailed by as many as 18 in the second half during today's GNAC matchup with Simon Fraser (4-10, 1-3 GNAC). Despite this, they turned things around and earned their third conference victory, 73-71, behind four double-digit performances and 10 steals on the defensive end.
How it Happened
The Nanooks offense was cold to begin the afternoon game. They were outshot 43.75% to 25.93%, making half the field goals as the Red Leafs. With that advantage, SFU ran out to a 36-24 advantage at the half. Out of the locker room, Alaska found it's stride offensively, making three more field goals than SFU and doubling them up in made three-pointers, as well as going 9-11 from the free-throw line while holding Simon Fraser to 4-8 from the line. This proved to be the difference maker as the 'Nooks outscored SFU by 14 in the second half to secure the two-point win.
Simon Fraser opened up the game with a bang, jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the opening 3:21. Out of an Alaska timeout,
Davis Crilly got the Blue and Gold on the board with a three-pointer. He followed his first up with his second three, cutting the SFU lead to six at 12-6. After five minutes of trading baskets, the Nanooks found themselves down double-digits again, but this time it was
Jalai O'Keith who connected from downtown, cutting the deficit to eight. In the final 8:28 of the first half, the Red Leafs led by double-digits for much of it, eventually leading by 15 with 45 seconds left in the half. Before the halftime horn sounded,
Tyriq Luke knocked down a trey off of an O'Keith steal, making it 36-24 at the break. Quickly out of halftime, Simon Fraser extended their lead to a game-high 18 just 1:31 into the second. This did not rattle the Nanooks.
Mike Miller quickly answered back with his own 4-0 run, using a layup and a tip-in to make it 42-28. The two sides traded buckets until the 52-36 mark when
Tyriq Luke and
Mike Miller hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull to within 10. Miller picked up a steal leading to his three, and swung the momentum towards Alaska.
Tariq Weiser would follow up with a layup after an offensive rebound by
Luke Fotheringham, and
Jalai O'Keith went for five-straight points to make it a five-point game.
Mike Miller continued his strong second half with a pair of buckets to pull within four, and
Tyriq Luke pulled the Nanooks to within one at the 7:51 marker behind six-straight points. A
Jalai O'Keith corner three off a swing pass by Fotheringham tied the game at 62-62, the first tie of the game since 0-0. This sparked the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium. SFU quickly shut down the momentum with a 5-0 run, but Alaska answered back with their own run, retying the game at 69-69. After a missed jumper by SFU's Mikyle Malabuyoc, the Nanooks regained possession. This led to
Davis Crilly getting fouled and sent to the free-throw line. He knocked down both free throws giving the 'Nooks a 71-69 lead, their first lead of the game with 2:55 left in the second half. The Red Leafs had one last answer, tying the game at 71-71, but after a missed SFU shot,
Mike Miller was fouled and sent to the line. He knocked down both free throws with 1:13 left, making it 73-71. SFU had one final look from deep with less than a second remaining, but came up unsuccessful, giving the Nanooks the win.
Inside the Numbers
- Tyriq Luke led the Nanooks with 20 points in the victory. The guard added two assists and a steal while shooting 5-12 from the floor, 3-8 from three and 7-8 from the free-throw line.
- Mike Miller filled up the statsheet as well finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, three offensive, one assist, and one steal. He made a team-high six field goals while adding a three and going 4-4 from the charity stripe.
- Jalai O'Keith had 13 points while going 5-8 from the floor and 3-6 from three. He had two boards and steals.
- Tariq Wieser was the final Nanook in double-digits, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, an assist and steal.
- Alaska shot 48.5% (17-35) from the floor in the second half after shooting 25.9% (7-27) in the first half.
- The Nanooks forced SFU into 15 turnovers while surrendering just five of their own. Alaska had 10 steals in the win. Simon Fraser picked up just three steals. Today's game was the first single-digit turnover game for the Nanooks this season. Their 10 steals was also their seventh double-digit steal game.
- Alaska dominated points off turnovers, outscoring SFU 22-5. The Nanooks also also outscored SFU 16-12 in second chance points. Alaska had 12 offensive rebounds tonight.
What's Next
The Nanooks head to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene next week for their second roadtrip in GNAC play. They face CWU on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. AKST and they face NNU on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Both games can be watched on the GNAC Network.
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