The UAF men’s basketball team (2-6, 1-0) took on Montana State University Billings (4-3, 1-0) on Saturday in an attempt to make it two-straight conference wins. They trailed for the majority of the contest before ultimately falling 65-39.
Both teams entered the contest undefeated in the GNAC, having won games earlier in the week. The Nanooks gained theirs over Seattle Pacific University in dominant fashion. MSUB won against No. 23 Alaska Anchorage, handing the Seawolves their first loss of the season. UAF hoped to do what their rivals couldn’t and take down MSUB on their home court.
The Yellowjackets started the game on fire from beyond the arc, going 4-8 to gain a 14-7 lead. Their hot shooting continued throughout the first half, and helped them grow their lead to as many as 18. Fairbanks trailed 33-15 heading into the break. Demarcus Hall-Scriven and Jaycson Bereal Jr. led the Nanooks in scoring with four points each.
A second-half comeback wouldn’t be in the cards. MSUB continued to score at will against the Nanooks, before ultimately securing a 65-39 win. It was essentially a wire-to-wire victory for the Yellowjackets as they led the contest for 39:20 of the 40 minutes played.
Jalen Tot led the way for the Yellowjackets, finishing with 19 points on 8-10 from the field, including 3-4 from deep. He led an impressive shooting night for his squad, where they ended going 27-54 (50%) from the floor. Famous Lefthand finished behind him with 12.
The biggest scoring discrepancy came from three-pointers made. Fairbanks only managed 3-16 (18.8%) from deep while MSUB went 10-27 (37%).
Nick Hopkins finished as the Nanook hit double-digits with 10 points. Bereal Jr. and Trey Anderson each finished with six. Abdullahi Mohamed had four points to go along with six rebounds and four assists, both being team highs.
The loss pushes the Nanooks record to 2-6 on the year and 1-1 in the GNAC. Their next game comes on the road against Hawaii Hilo on Dec 17.
Contact Caleb Jones at 907-459-7530 or cjones@newsminer.com.
