Brinson's hot shooting leads men's basketball to 89-56 win over WOU
January 14, 2013
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Senior guard Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/Accounting) had a career night from beyond the arc as Alaska cruised to an 89-56 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball win against Western Oregon on Saturday night at the Patty Center.
Brinson scored a season-high 28 points for the Nanooks (10-4, 5-1 GNAC) on 10 of 13 shooting and drained a career-best six treys on eight attempts in the win. He also tied a career-high with seven rebounds to go with his game-high six assists.
Junior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business and Finance) tallied 13 points off the bench as he hit three triples and junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration) chipped in 10 points and seven boards. Junior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) led all players in rebounding for the second straight game, with eight, and also produced seven points.
Alaska shot great from the floor, converting on 57 percent (35-62 FG) of its field goal attempts and had its best percentage of the year from long range with 13 made three-pointers and a 54 percent (13-24 3PT) success rate.
The Nanooks more than doubled up the Wolves (7-6, 2-3 GNAC) in rebounding, with a 49-24 advantage, including 13-8 on the offensive glass. They also tied a season-high with six blocks, three coming from junior forward Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice Studies, Law & Society).
The Wolves shot only 37 percent (21-62 FG) for the game and struggled from three, making just two treys after being limited to 17 percent (2-12 3PT) from downtown. Andy Avgi, the GNAC's second-leading scorer, was limited to just 12 points and six rebounds while Rodney Webster and Kolton Nelson both tied Avgi with 12 points apiece. Devon Alexander led WOU with four dimes and a game-high six steals.
The Nanooks surged out to an early 11-2 lead 3:42 into the contest with seven points coming from Brinson. They stretched the advantage to 15 at 21-6 and the Wolves never drew closer than 12 the rest of the half. Alaska, which shot just below 60 percent in the first 20 minutes, had leads as big as 23 and led comfortably 50-29 at the break.
WOU couldn't find an answer for the hot shooting by Alaska and the home team's lead never got below 20 points in the second half. The Nanooks, who have now won six straight games, five coming in GNAC play, led by as many as 34 down the stretch.
Next Saturday, the Nanooks battle their in-state rival, Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves (10-4, 3-3 GNAC) won both games this week, most recently 74-71 earlier Saturday against Saint Martin's.
Make sure to get to the Patty Center early as big crowds are expected for the 7 p.m. tipoff.