FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team was able to overcome an early 21-4 deficit to Chaminade University, as the Nanooks got a combined 42 points from Travante Williams and Bangaly Kaba to collect a 112-102 victory on Saturday night.
Williams followed up his 22-point night against Hawai'i Pacific with a 25-point performance against the Silverswords. The senior hit 8-of-15 from the field and drilled a team-high five three-pointers. The Anchorage native averaged 23.5 points per game on the weekend, as he earned GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover Most Valuable Player honors.
The Nanooks went 2-0 on the weekend to win the inaugural GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover. The Nanooks defeated Hawai'i Pacific, 96-77, on Friday night and followed that up with a 10-point win over Chaminade on Saturday.
"I'm obviously disappointed in the way we started tonight, and I kind of expected that with how our shoot around went this morning," said head coach Mick Durham. "I worry sometimes coming off of wins about how we will react and we found out early that if we don't cover these guys they will hit shots. I'm proud of the way we regrouped and I think our depth really helped us out. We battled back and took the lead at half and I think we had more energy in the second half and that led us to a victory tonight."
Kaba chipped in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, as he, along with Williams, was one of five Alaska players to score double figures. Senior Ashton Edwards hit double figures for the first time this season, as he scored 15 points off the bench. Joe Slocum tallied 13 points and Brandon Davis scored a career-high 12 points.
Chaminade hit its first eight field goal attempts to take a commanding 21-4 lead just five minutes into the game. Alaska kept chipping away at the lead, as Durham used his depth to wear down the Silverswords. The Nanooks pulled within seven after a 12-3 run, but Chaminade extended the lead back out to 17 at 42-25 after a three-point field goal from Kiran Shastri. The Nanooks finally took the lead in the closing seconds of the first half, as Williams drilled his fifth three-pointer of the frame to give Alaska a 53-52 lead going into the locker room.
Alaska quickly pushed its advantage to nine in the second half and took a double-digit lead at 82-71 after a Joe Slocum layup at the 11:19 mark. The Nanooks maintained its double-digit lead for the remainder of the night before taking the 112-102 victory.
The Nanooks will travel to Anchorage next weekend to compete in the AT&T Jamboree. Alaska will take on Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, followed by Life Pacific College on Saturday.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
