FAIRBANKS – The Nanooks men's basketball team opened their season in style Friday evening, crossing the triple-digit threshold to defeat the Northwest Indian College Eagles 122-65. Their 122 points are the sixth-most points scored in program history.
How it Happened
The Eagles got on the board on the game's first possession after a Tyasin Burns layup made it 2-0 NWIC, but an 18-0 run from the Nanooks gave the Blue and Gold a 16-point cushion in the first four minutes. Davis Crilly scored 10 of the 18, knocking down a pair of threes and two layups. Following back-to-back Eagles buckets, Crilly continued his hot shooting, connecting on two more from beyond the arc in straight possessions. Kellen Jedlicka followed with a layup, and Nick Clark added a pair of layups to give the 'Nooks a 30-9 advantage at the 13:18 mark. The Nanooks added two more runs of 14 and 20 unanswered points over the remainder of the half, hitting five threes over those two runs, to make it 66-17 entering the break.
The 'Nooks picked up right where they left off in the first, opening the second half on a 14-3 run, with Crilly posting back-to-back three-point plays and Jedlicka adding a trio of baskets to put Alaska ahead by 60. NWIC started to get its offense going after that, scoring 10 of the next 16 points, but Jett McCullough responded with a triple to reestablish a 59-point advantage. Deng Deng and Leyton Nield each posted a three over the remainder of the contest, and the Nanooks cruised to an emphatic win.
Inside the Numbers
- Davis Crilly put up 30 points on the evening, shooting an efficient 11-12 from the field. Crilly knocked down all six attempts from beyond the arc and went 2-2 from the line. He also added eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
- Tariq Weiser and Nick Clark both had 14 points. Weiser led the team with six assists, while Clark added three.
- Jett McCullough and Joel Amaro each had 12 points.
- Deng Deng posted 11 points on 5-5 shooting.
- Ethen Stoddard finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, posting 10 points and nine rebounds to go along with three assists and three steals.
- The Nanooks shot 47-70 (67.1%) from the field, 12-26 (46.2%) from beyond the arc and 16-17 (94.1%) from the charity stripe.
- The Nanooks forced 20 turnovers and scored 36 points off takeaways.
- The Nanooks doubled up NWIC in bench points, 46-23.
- Alaska led in points in the paint, 70-34.
- This is the first time both the men's and women's basketball teams have scored 100 points on the same day.
What's to Come
The Nanooks are back for one more game at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium on Saturday, taking on Northwest Indian in the second game of the series at 7:45 p.m.
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