Nanooks Hand Falcon Men First League Loss, 81-76
December 6, 2003

FAIRBANKS, Ak. (Dec. 6) – Ivan Miskovic came off the bench for nine of his 17 points in a late surge by Alaska Fairbanks as it dealt Seattle Pacific University its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference loss, 81-76, at the Patty Center Saturday.

The Falcons (1-1, 3-3) were paced by the game-high 21 points of Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) but they lost the lead for good on a 27-12 run by the Nanooks (1-1, 4-3) midway through the second half. Brad Oleson also had 17 points for Fairbanks, which outscored SPU 19-7 at the foul line.

Lee scored 15 points in the first 22 minutes and Seattle Pacific led 49-43 with 13 minutes remaining. But Miskovic, working primarily inside where he grabbed six offensive rebounds, gradually lifted UAF into the lead. A layup by Oleson put Fairbanks ahead 74-64 with 92 seconds to go. Despite a late flurry of three-pointers, SPU got no closer than five.

Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) finished with a double double of 15 points and 14 rebounds and Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) added 14 and eight, respectively. SPU, which had beaten Alaska Anchorage in overtime Thursday, out-rebounded Fairbanks 44-36 but committed eight more turnovers (17-9). Both teams shots 44 percent from the field.

Lee continued his torrid stretch of four games, in which he has averaged 23 points. He hit 5-8 three-pointers and 8-15 overall.

Miskovic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Serbia, converted 6-9 field goals and had eight total rebounds in 18 minutes of play. The UAF bench outscored its counterparts 27-10.

The Falcons take a 10-day break before resuming play with a non-conference game at UC San Diego Dec. 16. The next home game is Dec. 29.

ALASKA FAIRBANKS 81, SEATTLE PACIFIC 76

SEATTLE PACIFIC – Lee 8-15 0-0 21, Binetti 3-13 2-2 9, Chivers 6-12 3-4 15, Bremerman 6-10 0-0 14, Bushmaker 3-5 1-2 7, Steele 1-6 0-1 2, Knudson 1-2 0-0 3, Williams 1-4 1-1 3, Matzen 0-0 0-0 0, Cohen 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-68 7-10 76.

ALASKA FAIRBANKS – Jones 2-8 0-0 4, Oleson 7-13 1-1 17, C. Smith 4-10 4-6 12, A. Smith 3-9 7-10 13, Bourne 3-4 2-2 8, Sconiers 2-2 0-0 5, Miskovic 6-9 5-5 17, Forsyth 2-11 0-0 5. Totals 29-66 19-24 81.

Halftime–SPU 34, UAF 33. 3-Point Goals–SPU 9-23 (Lee 5-8, Knudson 1-2, Binetti 1-5, Bremerman 2-5, Williams 0-2, Steele 0-1), UAF 4-19 (Olseon 2-4, Sconiers 1-1, Forsyth 1-6, Jones 0-5, C. Smith 0-3). Rebounds–SPU 44, (Chivers 14), UAF 36 (Miskovic 8). Assists–SPU 11 (Bremerman 3), UAF 13 (C. Smith 5). Total fouls–SPU 22, UAF 14. A–822.