Rhode Island pulls out tight win over Nanooks

Submitted by Barry Piser
Phone: (907) 474-6805
11/19/06

The Alaska Nanooks came back from a 16-point deficit but lost a tough 77-73 decision to Rhode Island in game five of the BP Top of the World Classic Saturday night. Rhode Island guard Jon Lucky made the game-winning lay-up with 16 seconds left but the Rams had to survive one last Nanook possession.

Down 75-73, junior guard Kenny Barker’s (San Diego, CA) driving lay-up with 3 seconds left rolled out of the rim into the hands of Rams guard Jimmy Baron, who was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.

"We got a great look," Nanook coach Frank Ostanik said. "I’m not happy that we took an A-10 team to the wire. I’m disappointed."

The Rams were led by junior forward Will Daniels’ game-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Kahiem Seawright had 14 points and seven boards and Lucky chipped in 13. Forward Joe Mbang came off the bench for 11 points to round out the Rams double figure scorers.

Alaska was led by sophomore forward Colin Matteson’s (Lynnwood, WA) career-high 18 points on six three-pointers and a team-high seven rebounds. Barker finished with 15 points and freshman guard Tyrome Flowers (Tacoma, WA) added 14 points off the bench. Junior point Barry Barnes, Jr. (Long Beach, CA) finished with a career-high 10 assists, eight points, five boards and three steals in 37 minutes. Leading scorer Jushay Rockett (Long Beach, CA) was limited to a season-low 12 points due to foul trouble.

Rhode Island established an early lead by pounding the ball inside on the smaller Nanooks with 14 points in the paint in the first half, almost all of which came in the first 10 minutes. The duo of 6-10 center Darrell Harris and the 6-8 Seawright made all six of their shots inside in the stretch.

The Nanooks had fewer turnovers (6 to 11) than Rhode Island but could only convert 29 percent of their shots in the half. The Rams used the inside advantage coupled with Alaska’s offensive woes to build leads as big as 16 and head into the half with a 40-27 lead over the Nanooks.

"I didn’t think we competed the first 20 minutes," Ostanik said. "They aren’t coming to play right away or they looked a little scared to me."

Alaska slowly chipped away at the lead with a 27-13 run to open the second frame. The surge culminated with a Barker lay-up that put the Nanooks up 54-53 with 9:27 left in the game.

The teams traded buckets before a 9-2 Rhode Island run put them up 68-62 with 4:35 to play. Alaska responded with a 9-0 run that included Matteson’s three for the lead with 3:09 to go. Flowers hit two free throws at the 2:51 mark to cap the run.

Forward Will Daniels of Rhode Island made back-to-back lay-ups in a five-second span to give them a one-point edge. The Nanooks then went inside to Rockett, who scored on a jump hook to put Alaska up 73-72 with 1:28 to go.

Rockett fouled out with a minute left and Daniels made 1-of-2 free throws to set the stage for Lucky’s game-deciding lay-up.

"We competed harder than them the second half," Ostanik said. "We really fought hard."

Alaska will now play Southeast Missouri State in the seventh place game at 3:30 p.m. AST, while Rhode Island plays Centenary at 10:00 a.m. AST for fourth place.

For the latest information on the tournament visit www.AlaskaNanooks.com