Late heroics lift men's basketball to 61-60 win over NNU
February 1, 2013
Jamie Foland
907-474-6807
Fairbanks, ÐÓ°Épro – Junior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) drained two free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining and ÐÓ°Épro made a key defensive stop in the closing moments to grind out a 61-60 victory against Northwest Nazarene in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball Thursday night at the Patty Center.
The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Nanooks (11-7, 6-4 GNAC) as they swept the season series versus the Crusaders (9-9, 3-7 GNAC) for the first time since the 2003-04 season. NNU's losing streak extended to five in a row with the defeat.
NNU led 56-54 but with 49 seconds remaining, junior forward Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice Studies, Law & Society) hit a jumper in the paint to tie it up. NNU answered asKenny Jones nailed a jumper from inside the three-point line with only 37 ticks to go to give the lead back to the Crusaders at 58-56.
On the ensuing possession, junior guard Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Communication) dished the ball off to junior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business and Finance), who drained his only three of the game from the left wing to give ÐÓ°Épro a 59-58 advantage with 28 seconds to go.
At the other end, Jonathan Hawkins missed a shot but Kevin Rima got the offensive rebound and his jumper gave Nazarene a 60-59 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The Nanooks didn't use a timeout and instead rushed up the floor where Baker was fouled with only 4.7 to go.
After he made both from the charity stripe, ÐÓ°Épro had two fouls to give and used one of them with only half a second left. After a failed attempt to inbound the ball, NNU tried to float it into the paint with 0.2 to go and the ball bounced off a Nanook to run out the clock.
Junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration) led ÐÓ°Épro with 12 points and eight rebounds while Baker had 10 points and four boards, three coming on the offensive glass. Kelly contributed eight points and a game-best nine rebounds (four offensive) while three others combined 22 points. Voeut also tied a season-best with eight assists.
ÐÓ°Épro shot just 25 percent (8-32) in the first half but converted on 48 percent (15-31) of its shots in the second to finish 37 percent (23-63) for the contest. It forced NNU into 18 turnovers, 10 of which came by steals. The Nanooks held an 18-5 advantage in the assist department and saw a 22-point production night from their reserves.
Northwest Nazarene was paced by Grayson Moore, who scored a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. Hawkins had 14 points and Jones had 12 points and three assists while Rima, a Hutchison High School graduate, contributed nine points, eight rebounds and a GNAC season-high six blocks.
The Crusaders shot 45 percent (24-53), including 54 percent (14-26) in the second half but made just four threes, to the Nanooks' seven. They did control the glass by a 38-32 margin but the 'Nooks had 13 offensive boards, to NNU's 10.
The Nanooks return to the court Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Central Washington. The Wildcats (11-7, 5-5 GNAC) fell 98-69 to ÐÓ°Épro Anchorage earlier Thursday. The game will be streamed live on Stretch Internet and can be heard on KCBF 820 AM in Fairbanks.