BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Nanooks men's basketball team held off the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks in the opening round of the GNAC Championships on Thursday, pulling away late after NNU cut their lead to three with under five minutes remaining. The Nanooks avenged their two losses to the Nighthawks this season, securing the win by a final of 87-75.



How it Happened
Tyriq Luke got the scoring started 41 seconds into the contest, pulling up for a jumper from the free throw line to make it 2-0 early. NNU would get a pair of layups to take the lead, and despite tying things up twice in the following minutes, the Nanooks could not pull in front until the 10:22 mark when Mike Miller gave the 'Nooks a 16-15 lead on a deep three. Luke Fotheringham added to the lead on the next possession, banking home a layup to force a Nighthawks timeout, and Cortarius Mingo made sure the Nanooks stayed in front after a Nathan Perez three, getting past his man and to the hoop for a layup. Crilly knocked down a three to put Alaska up 24-18 with 6:19 left before the break, and the 'Nooks would hold onto their two-score lead until a Kyelin King three-point play made it 35-32 with 32 seconds left. However, Jalai O'Keith sent the Nanooks into the locker room up five, hitting a driving layup two seconds before the half expired.

Tyriq Luke and Luke Fotheringham connected on a pair of jumpers on Alaska's first two possessions out of the break, but a 6-0 run for the Nighthawks would see NNU tie the game at 41. Luke made sure the 'Nooks didn't fall behind, draining a catch-and-shoot three off the feed from Miller and kickstarting a 7-0 run for the Blue and Gold, which saw their advantage build to 48-41. Crilly answered a pair of NNU buckets by sinking his third three of the game, and a trey from Miller halfway through the second gave the Nanooks their largest lead of the game up to that point at 58-49. However, eight unanswered NNU points would see that lead shrink to just one with 7:30 remaining. O'Keith cut Northwest Nazarene's run with a three, and Tariq Weiser followed with a jumper, but the Nighthawks kept fighting back, cutting the lead to two after four Easton Reagan points on back-to-back possessions. A Luke three made sure the Nanooks kept their lead, and a Crilly four-point play on the following possession put the 'Nooks ahead by seven, and they would lead by two scores for the remainder of the game.

Inside the Numbers

• The Nanooks had five players score in double figures vs. the Nighthawks, with Tyriq Luke leading the way with 21 points. He shot 6-10 from the field and knocked down both attempts from deep, while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Davis Crilly followed with 20 points, going 7-10 from the field and 4-6 from three. He grabbed five rebounds, tallied two steals and added a block.
• Mike Miller posted 18 points on 6-12 shooting. He tied for the team lead with six rebounds and logged two assists, a block and a steal.
• Luke Fotheringham put up 11 points to go along with six rebounds and a team-high five assists. He also tied for the team lead with two steals.
• Tariq Weiser was the final Nanook to post double-digit points, scoring 10. He added four rebounds and two assists.
• The Nanooks made over half their field goal attempts, going 30-59 (50.8%) from the field and 10-23 (43.5%) from three in the win. They opened the game by shooting 48.4% from the field and 36.4% from downtown in the first, but improved those numbers in the second half, going 53.6% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.
• The Nanooks held the Nighthawks to 22.2% from three during the game.
• Alaska held the advantage in the rebounding department 35-32. Both teams grabbed eight offensive boards, with the Nanooks also leading in second-chance points 9-8.
• Both sides had 12 turnovers in the contest.

What's to Come
The Nanooks will face in-state rivals Alaska Anchorage Friday afternoon in the GNAC Championships semifinals. Tip-off is set for 4:15 p.m. AKST inside Carver Gymnasium, and can be livestreamed on the GNAC Network.

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