FAIRBANKS – The Nanooks men's basketball team secured its spot in the GNAC Championships next week after defeating the Western Oregon Wolves 82-74. The win gives the Nanooks a 14-13, 9-9 GNAC record and locks them in as the sixth seed entering the conference tournament.

How it Happened
The Nanooks opened up a 9-0 lead early in the contest, starting the game 4-5 from the field. The Wolves got their first points of the contest at the 16:47 mark, but Tyriq Luke responded right away with a three, and added another less than a minute later. After a Tariq Weiser free throw put the Nanooks back in front by 10, they held onto a double-digit lead until the 10:43 mark, when a Brady Grier put-back brought the Wolves to within nine. The Nanooks answered with layups from Davis Crilly and Weiser, but the Wolves responded right away with five quick points. Jeremiah Hersrud would hit a three to put the Nanooks up by 12, and a pair of Crilly field goals put them up 14. However, Western Oregon continued to fight back, cutting Alaska's lead down to eight four more times in the opening half. Cortarius Mingo gave the Nanooks their 10-point lead back after sinking two from the free throw line, and the Nanooks entered the break up 46-36.

The Wolves came back to cut Alaska's lead to four within the first few minutes of the second half, aided by a 7-0 run that made it a 51-47 contest. Luke gave the Nanooks some cushion by completing a three-point play, and he added a three on the following possession to make it an eight-point game. The two sides traded the next four baskets before a Mike Miller fastbreak layup put the 'Nooks up 10. However, the Wolves once again cut the lead to four after a 7-0 run with 5:34 left. Jalai O'Keith cut the run with a layup and followed that up by connecting on a huge three to put Alaska ahead by seven with 2:29 remaining. From there, they were able to hold onto at least a two-score lead for the rest of the contest.

Inside the Numbers

• Tyriq Luke led the way with 20 points on the afternoon, going 8-16 from the field and 3-7 from three. He added three assists and a steal.
• Jalai O'Keith followed with 14 points. He nearly posted a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds.
• Luke Fotheringham put up 13 points on an efficient 6-7 shooting performance. He grabbed five rebounds, four offensive, dished three assists and notched two steals.
• Mike Miller was the final Nanook to score in double-figures, tallying 12 points. He also finished with eight rebounds.
• Alaska shot 30-63 (47.6%) from the field, 8-28 (28.6%) from three and 14-17 (82.4%) from the free throw line in the win.
• The Nanooks grabbed 41 rebounds to WOU's 31. Alaska had 17 offensive boards during the game that they turned into 18 second-chance points. Meanwhile, WOU had 12 offensive rebounds and scored seven points on their extended possessions.
• The Nanooks held the advantage in the paint 40-36.

What's to Come
The Nanooks enter the conference championships as the sixth seed, and will face the third-seeded Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Thursday, March 5, at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham, Wash. Tip-off is set for 4:15 p.m. AKST.

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