HONOLULU – The Nanooks men's basketball team fell to Hawai'i Pacific 74-58 on Friday evening, dropping to 2-1, 0-0 GNAC on the season.
How it Happened
Both teams struggled from the floor early, with the Nanooks starting 1-13 and the Sharks going 2-10. The Sharks took a 7-5 lead at 16:47, and neither team would score again until the 12:24 mark when Kellen Jedlicka drained Alaska's first three of the ballgame. Javares Reid followed with a layup off an HPU turnover to make it 10-7 Alaska. After that, both sides went cold again, not scoring for nearly three minutes until James Bodily knocked down a fadeaway jumper to extend the Nanooks' lead to five. HPU eventually ended a 9:15 scoreless drought with a three and tied the game at 12 with a layup before a Joel Amaro layup and James Bodily corner three on consecutive possessions put Alaska back in front by five. However, HPU countered with a 6-0 run to take the lead with 5:24 left in the half. Bodily connected on another three to briefly give the Nanooks their lead back, but HPU followed by kicking off an 11-0 run to pull ahead 29-20. Tyriq Luke ended Alaska's scoring drought with a jumper, but the Nanooks entered the halftime break trailing 29-23.
HPU opened the second on a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 11, but four straight Ethen Stoddard points on a layup and two free throws, followed by a Bodily put-back layup, cut the deficit to five and forced a Hawaii Pacific timeout. Another Bodily put-back ended a 5-0 Sharks run, and the guard added a jumper on the next Nanooks possession. A Luke three and Reid hookshot got Alaska to within four, and a Bodily triple made it a one-possession game at 50-47, but the Sharks responded right away with their own three. That would kick off a 12-4 run for the hosts over the next three minutes. Bodily and Nemanja Sarenac traded threes following the run, and HPU got a pair from the charity stripe to make it 67-54 with 3:39 left in the game. Jedlicka knocked down a layup, but the Sharks iced the game by outscoring Alaska 7-2 over the final 3:02.
Inside the Numbers
- James Bodily led the team with 21 points, knocking down 8 of 16 shots. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
- Tyriq Luke also scored in double figures, posting 10 points.
- Tariq Weiser posted team highs in assists (3) and steals (2).
- Davis Crilly grabbed nine rebounds to pace the squad.
- The Nanooks shot 32.8% (21-64) from the field and 21.2% (7-33) from beyond the arc and made nine of 13 attempts from the free-throw line.
- The Nanooks were outrebounded 36-31, but held the advantage on the offensive glass 9-6. They led in second-chance points 11-9.
- Alaska forced 15 turnovers while committing 13. They also led in points off turnovers, 11-7.
- HPU held the advantage in the paint (28-18) and on the fast break (5-2).
What's to Come
The Nanooks have one more game in Hawai'i, taking on Chaminade on Saturday at 4 p.m. AKST.
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