Men's Basketball routs Multnomah, 124-59
December 18, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Seven players scored in double figures and Alaska used a 76-point second half en route to a 124-59 non-conference victory against Multnomah on Monday night at the Patty Center.
That point total was only one point off the program record (125), set back on Nov. 3, 2006, against Lancaster Bible and just 12 points off the Great Northwest Athletic Conference single-game record (136), which was set by Northwest Nazarene back on Nov. 15, 2008, in which it also faced Multnomah. It was also the first time since Alaska's overtime win over nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific in 2010 that it surpassed the century mark.
Senior guard Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/Accounting) poured in a game-high 22 points for the Nanooks (6-4, 1-1 GNAC) after draining five three-pointers while junior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business and Finance) came off the bench to score 20 after netting four treys to go with his five rebounds and four assists.
Junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration) was a rebounding machine as he brought down a career-high 16 boards to go with 11 points for his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career. Senior forward Zach Ngawaka (Keysborough, Australia/History) tallied a season-best 16 points while also collecting six rebounds and junior forwards Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice studies, Law & Society) and Dallen Bills (Inkom, Idaho/Psychology) combined for 29 points and 12 boards as both accrued 15 and 14 points, respectively, which was season-highs for both.
In addition, junior guard Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Communication) had 10 points, tied for a season-high eight assists and also brought down a season-best six rebounds. Freshman guard Cody Pierson (Twin Bridges, Mont./General Studies) went three for three from beyond the arc for a career-high nine points and junior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) tallied a season-high 10 boards.
Alaska shot 56.6 percent (47-83 FG) from the floor, tying the season-best field goal percentage while limiting Multnomah to 25 percent (19-75 FG) shooting. The Nanooks hit 16 treys as a team and shot just under 49 percent (16-33 3-PT) from long range and the Lions (6-10) converted 34 percent of their three pointers with 13 made.
The 'Nooks dominated the glass by a 64-33 count, including 18-10 on the offensive boards. They dished out 31 assists, the most during the Mick Durham era and did a great job of possessing the basketball, with only eight turnovers, also a Durham-best.
The Lions were led by Austin Hodges, who scored a team-best 20 points, and Steven Sansone contributed 12 points off the bench for the visitors.
Multnomah led 12-11 with 12 minutes to go in the first half but a Brinson three-pointer with 11:48 to go sparked a 13-0 run over 2:49 to give the home team a 24-12 lead. The Nanooks ended the half by scoring the final 18 points in 4:24 to take a 48-20 halftime lead.
Leading 59-29 early in the second, Alaska stretched the advantage to 39 at 70-31 with 14:24 to play and never led by less than 36 the rest of the way. The lead surpassed 50 points with just under nine minutes to play and Alaska eclipsed the 100-point mark on a trey by Tica with 7:13 to go.
The two return to the court Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. for an exhibition. It will be the final contest for the Nanooks prior to resuming GNAC play on Jan. 3 at Central Washington.