Thursday was a long night for Alaska Nanooks basketball fans.
The Saint Martin’s University Saints came to town and rolled through the Patty Center like a freight train, sweeping the Nanooks off the court in a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium.
Saint Martin’s opened the night with a 78-69 triumph in the women’s game and the men followed with a convincing 74-59 victory.
Alaska hopes to turn things around this afternoon when the Nanooks host the Western Oregon University Wolves on Senior Day.
The women’s game gets under way at 1 p.m., followed by the men’s contest at 3:15 p.m.
Saint Martin’s jumped out to a 25-16 lead in the first quarter of Thursday night’s game and the Nanooks couldn’t get back in the game.
The Nanooks did close the gap to 35-32 at halftime, but the Saints went on a 22-14 run in the third quarter to take control.
Three Saint Martin’s players combined for 63 points and 25 rebounds. Claire Dingus registered a game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the way for the Saints. Rian Clear tallied 19 points and nine rebounds, with Tierney DeDonitas knocking down 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Caitlin Pusich had her second straight 20-point performance to set the pace for the Nanooks. Destiny Reimers added 14 points and Ellen Silva had 10 to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.
The win boosted Saint Martin’s 12-13 overall and 4-12 in the GNAC. Alaska slipped to 3-18 on the year and 2-14 in conference play.
The Alaska men grabbed an early lead, but it didn’t last long as the visiting Saints pulled ahead 38-29 at halftime and never trailed again. Saint Martin’s outscored Alaska 36-30 in the final 20 minutes.
Alex Schumacher led the winners with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds. Kyle Greeley had 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Champ Spencer registered 12 points and Brett Reed knocked down 11.
Shadeed Shabazz led Alaska with 14 points, six rebounds and four steals. Abdullahi Mohamed contributed 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Nanooks. Koby Huerta and Willie Thomas III chipped in 10 points apiece. Huerta had four assists and Thomas registered four blocked shots.
With the win, Seattle improves to 19-7 on the season and 11-5 in conference play. Alaska fell to 7-14 on the season and 4-11 in the GNAC.
