Nanooks Push Falcon Men out of First Place, 72-64
February 17, 2005

Season and Game Stats

FAIRBANKS, Ak. (Feb. 17) ­ Behind the 24 points of Brad Oleson, Alaska Fairbanks knocked 17th-ranked Seattle Pacific University out of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference for the first time in a month, 72-64 at Patty Center late Thursday night.

The Falcons (9-4, 17-6), who have lost two consecutive games for the first time, were paced by the 21 points of Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian). They fell to third in the GNAC. Western Washington, which beat SPU last Saturday, defeated Alaska Anchorage to take sole possession of first.

Oleson helped keep Seattle Pacific at a distance throughout the second half. The fifth-leading scorer in NCAA Division II quelled the strongest rally, responding with a mid-range jumper and two free throws after the Falcons' Chad Williams connected on three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 65-59 with 2 minutes, 29 seconds to go.

Fairbanks (10-4, 16-7) led for the final 36 minutes and by as much as 13 points late in the first half, when they made 56 percent from the field. Andrew Smith added 17 points for UAF, which shot 52 percent overall. Justin Bourne's 11 rebounds helped the hosts rule the boards, 36-27.

Lee sank 10 of 13 shots for his best game since December. But Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles), who had scored a career-high 33 in last month's home overtime win over UAF, managed just 11 points and four rebounds. SPU shot just 42 percent (25-59).

SPU has been plagued by poor first halves in each of its defeats and was down 34-23 at the break, matching a season-low total. The Nanooks dominated inside, with Smith scoring 10 points and Bourne helping UAF command the boards, 18-8. Eleven unanswered points essentially gave Alaska control of the game, 20-8, midway through the first half.

SPU visits Alaska Anchorage Thursday night.

SEATTLE PACIFIC ­ Lee 10-13 0-0 21, Binetti 2-8 3-5 7, Williams 1-3 4-4 7, Chivers 5-8 1-3 11, Bremerman 4-14 1-1 11, Steele 2-7 0-0 5, Knudson 0-1 0-0 0, Birkle 0-2 0-0 0, Bushmaker 1-3 0-0 2, Gabelein 0-0 0-0 0, Matzen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 9-13 64.
ALASKA FAIRBANKS ­ Barker 2-4 3-4 7, Bourne 2-4 0-0 4, Oleson 8-13 6-6 24, C. Smith 3-7 3-5 9, A. Smith 7-10 3-5 17, Titus 1-2 0-0 2, Below 0-0 0-0 0, Miskovic 3-7 1-1 7, Jordan 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 27-52 16-21 72.
Halftime-UAF 34, SPU 23. 3-point goals-SPU 5-15 (Bremerman 2-7, Wlliams 1-1, Lee 1-2, Steele 1-2, Birkle 0-1, Binetti 0-1, Bushmaker 0-1), UAF 2-14 (Oleson 2-6, Barker 0-2, Jordan 0-3, C.Smith 0-2, Titus 0-1). Fouled out--none. Rebounds-SPU 27 (Williams 7), UAF 36 (Bourne11). Assists-SPU 8 (Bushmaker 3), UAF 13 (Bourne 6). Total fouls-SPU 21, UAF 17. A-1128.