BILLINGS, Mont. – The Nanooks men's basketball team survived a back-and-forth contest vs. the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets on Saturday, in a game which saw 16 ties and 14 lead changes, eventually holding on to claim a 101-97 victory in overtime. The win moves the Nanooks into a tie for fifth place in the GNAC standings with two games to go, as they currently hold a 13-12, 8-8 GNAC record, the same conference record as Central Washington.

How it Happened
The Nanooks got off to a hot start as Mike Miller and Davis Crilly hit a pair of treys to give Alaska an early 6-0 lead, but MSUB followed by taking the lead after a 10-2 run. Crilly brought it back level with a layup, but MSUB countered with five unanswered points in the following minute. The Yellowjackets held the lead until the 13:57 mark of the first when Cortarius Mingo completed a three-point play to put the 'Nooks ahead 19-17. The two sides traded the lead twice over the next 1:12, with a Jalai O'Keith three giving Alaska the one-point lead. However, MSUB's Jonas La Tour would put the hosts back up by two. The Nanooks were able to tie it twice, but would not regain the lead until five minutes left in the half after a Crilly layup made it 37-35. They did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the half and entered the locker room up 46-41.

MSUB would take the lead 2:33 into the second after opening the half on a 10-4 run. A Miller layup and Crilly three gave the Nanooks the lead back, but the Yellowjackets responded by scoring their next 12 points without a response, growing their lead to nine. The Nanooks fought back, however, using a pair of Tyriq Luke threes and another triple from Tariq Weiser to go on an 11-0 run of their own and grab a two-point lead with 6:33 left. MSUB's Mason Landdeck and Luke traded threes on the following possessions, but the Nanooks would pull in front by six after establishing their presence in the paint, getting two layups from Luke Fotheringham and another from Luke on three straight possessions and forcing an MSUB timeout. The Yellowjackets countered with an 8-0 run out of the break, but Luke tied things up at 78 with a two-point jumper before Miller drained a shot from deep to give Alaska an 81-78 advantage with 39 seconds left. A Billings layup cut it to a one-point game, and after Luke made a pair of free throws, Jakob Milling tied the game at 83 with a last-second three, sending the game to overtime.

The Nanooks never trailed during the overtime period, establishing an early lead after a Fotheringham bucket. However, despite the Nanooks continuing to keep themselves in front, they could not pull away, as the Yellowjackets tied the game three times over the first half of the overtime period. It wasn't until a three and two from Luke on back-to-back possessions that the Nanooks pulled ahead for good. Despite not leading by more than six in overtime, the 'Nooks were able to see the game out from the free-throw line and claim the four-point victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Tyriq Luke went off for 38 points, the most by a Nanook since Shadeed Shabazz posted 41 in the opening round of the GNAC tournament vs. Simon Fraser in 2021-22. The guard shot 14-22 from the field and 6-11 from three, and added seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.
• Mike Miller and Jalai O'Keith both posted 15 points, with Miller going 6-8 from the field and O'Keith grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
• Davis Crilly was the final Nanook to finish in double-figures, posting 13 points. He grabbed six rebounds and led the team with three blocks.
• Luke Fotheringham tallied eight points and dished a team-best nine assists.
• The Nanooks shot 37-68 (54.4%) from the field, 16-33 (48.5%) from three and 11-20 from the charity stripe in the contest. They went a perfect 5-5 from the field during overtime, knocking down both of their attempts from deep.
• Both squads posted 38 rebounds, with MSUB holding the advantage on the offensive glass 18-13. They turned those second chances into 25 points compared to 10 for the Nanooks.

What's to Come
The Nanooks close out the regular season with a pair of home contests next week, welcoming Saint Martin's and Western Oregon to Fairbanks for a pair of critical GNAC matchups to determine Alaska's postseason fate.

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