Boxscore
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Trailing by as many as 14 in the second half, the Northwest Nazarene men's basketball team battled all the way back, only to see a shot at the buzzer fall just short, giving the University of Alaska Fairbanks an 88-86 win on Saturday night in Alaska. The Crusaders defeated Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (90-78), breaking UAA's 10-game GNAC home winning streak, and were hunting the rare Alaskan sweep in Fairbanks.
Louie Beech led five Crusaders into double-digits with 16 points and 10 rebounds, a career-high effort for Beech on the glass, as the Crusaders out-rebounded the Nanooks 41-35.
Brian Barkdoll and
Kendall Gielow each scored 13 and both
Adam Shildmyer and Anthony Golden had 12.
The Crusaders trailed 50-41 at the half as UAF's combo attack of Jon Moe and Emmanuel Jenkins scored 18 and 17 in the opening period on combined 14 of 21 shooting from the floor and seven of 11 shooting from the three point line.
NNU battled in the second half, holding Jenkins to five second half points, but 10 turnovers in the half proved to be too much to overcome as the Nanooks would convert five-of-six free throws in the final 30 seconds to earn the two-point victory.
The loss drops the Crusaders to 9-3 overall, 1-1 in GNAC play, and breaks a five-game winning streak. UAF improves to 3-7 overall and 1-1 in league action.
Moe led all scorer's with 27 and Jenkins finished with 22. Nashorn Maynard also posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Colin Matteson scored 15 and pulled down nine.
The Crusaders return to Nampa and will host a pair of GNAC games next weekend, facing Western Washington on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) and Western Oregon (2:00 p.m.) on Saturday. Both games are part of doubleheader action with the NNU women's team.
On Saturday NNU will welcome the 12th class of inductees into the NNU Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place at halftime of the men's game and be followed by a reception in the Hall of Fame area at the completion of the game.
