FAIRBANKS – The Nanooks men's basketball team improved to 11-11, 6-7 GNAC after securing an 89-81 win over the Central Washington Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.



How it Happened
The Nanooks struck first at the 18:42 mark with a Tyriq Luke triple, giving them the early lead. Mike Miller added his own three on the following possession, and a Davis Crilly jumper extended Alaska's lead to 8-2. Luke Fotheringham put the 'Nooks up by double-digits less than five minutes into the contest after hitting a layup, and would answer a Chae Haynes put-back with another layup to keep the Nanooks in front by 11. However, the Wildcats would storm back with a 10-0 run, cutting Alaska's lead down to just one with 11:12 left in the first. The Nanooks managed to keep themselves in front for the next few minutes thanks to a Tariq Weiser three and another Fotheringham layup, but CWU took the lead at the 8:53 mark after a Xavier Kamalu-Vargas layup made it 24-23 Wildcats. Both sides traded the lead five times over the remainder of the half, but the Nanooks used baskets from Jalai O'Keith and Luke to give themselves a 44-41 advantage heading into the locker room.

Crilly and Fotheringham got things going out of the gate, knocking down a three and a layup on Alaska's first two possessions of the half to extend its lead to eight. However, the Nanooks could not pull away from the Wildcats, and despite a pair of Crilly layups that kept it a two-possession game, they failed to extend their lead past eight points, and after a 14-2 CWU run, the 'Nooks suddenly found themselves down 65-61 with 8:57 left. Jackson Krug ended Central Washington's run with a put-back, and a Miller jumper put Alaska back in front just over a minute later. The Wildcats would briefly retake the lead, going up one at the 5:20 mark, but the 'Nooks got back in front thanks to a Luke jumper. Weiser followed with back-to-back layups to keep it a four-point game, but a Bradley Swillie three cut the lead to one with just over three minutes to go. Crilly got some of the cushion back after knocking down a pair of free throws, and O'Keith found space to put up and drain a three with 1:23 remaining, giving the Nanooks a six-point advantage. He followed that up with a layup on the next possession, and the 'Nooks iced the game from the free-throw line, securing the eight-point victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Davis Crilly led the squad with 20 points on 7-14 shooting. He also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
• Jalai O'Keith followed with 18 points on an efficient 6-7 shooting. He grabbed five rebounds and tallied a steal.
• Mike Miller and Tyriq Luke were the final Nanooks to finish in double-figures, each posting 13 points. Luke added seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
• Tariq Weiser finished just shy of logging a double-double, posting nine points and a season-high nine assists.
• The Nanooks shot 32-62 (51.6%) from the field, 7-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc and 18-20 (90%) from the charity stripe.
• The 'Nooks outrebounded the Wildcats 39-33. However, CWU held the advantage in offensive rebounds, 13-12, and posted 17 second-chance points to Alaska's 13.
• The Nanooks had 14 turnovers to Central Washington's 13. However, the 'Nooks made their takeaways count, posting 23 points off CWU's giveaways compared to 14 points off turnovers for the Wildcats.
• Alaska held the scoring advantage in the paint, 44-40.

What's to Come
The Nanooks are on the road for the next two weeks, beginning with a trip to Anchorage to take on in-state rivals UAA on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m.

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