Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The University of Alaska-Fairbanks men's basketball team held off a late rally by Montana State University Billings' to pick up an 80-73 win Saturday.

The Nanooks (5-4, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) beat MSU Billings for only the second time in the last seven meetings. UAF finished 56 percent from the field, and made 14 of its 15 free-throw attempts. Alaska-Fairbanks was also 6-for-19 from three-point range. The Nanooks led for the entirety of the contest, leading by as many as 15 points late in the first half.

“Just didn't have great energy in the first half,” MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens said. “We didn't make shots, couldn't get stops and just got dominated. Our second half was better but we have a long way to go. For whatever reason, we can't seem to get our guys playing well together. We have a month now with six games and multiple practices to get us ready for the second half of our season. Hopefully, this month gets us ready for the rest of our GNAC schedule.”

Alaska-Fairbanks was led by Dominique Brinson's 20 points. He finished 6-of-9 from the field, making four of his seven attempts from behind the arc. Four other Nanooks finished in double-digits, Pat Voeut had 16 points, Ronnie Baker and Sergej Pucar both added 12, and Dallen Bills chipped in 10. Voeut dished out a game-high six assists.

The Nanooks scored the first seven points of the game, capped by a three-pointer from Brinson, four minutes into the contest. The Yellowjackets closed within three, 13-10, with 12:26 remaining in the first half. UAF had its first double-digit lead in the game at the 5:24 mark of the first half, after Voeut three-pointer made the score, 28-18. Alaska-Fairbanks led by as many as 15 in the half, and had a 37-23 advantage at halftime.

Alaska-Fairbanks held a double-digit for most of the second half, and had a 65-52 lead after a pair of Brinson free throws with 6:30 remaining in the game. Three minutes, the Yellowjackets cut the lead to 73-67 after a three-pointer from David Arnold. MSUB came within five points twice, but that was as close as it would get to the Nanooks.

The Nanooks had a 36-22 rebound advantage, and had a 44-26 edge in points in the paint. Both benches tallied 22 points. UAF finished with 18 assists, while MSU Billings had nine. The Yellowjackets committed 12 turnovers to Alaska-Fairbanks' 19. MSUB had 10 steals.

The Yellowjackets' (4-4, 0-2 GNAC) Arnold and Jarrell Crayton both scored 15 points, and Cameron Cusworth and Omar McDade both had 12. MSUB finished 42 percent from the field, making 10 of its 23 three-point attempts. Montana State Billings was 15-of-21 from the free-throw line.

Montana State Billings returns to Alterowitz Gymnasium after the nearly 9,000-mile road trip between Hawaii and Alaska. The Yellowjackets welcome South Dakota Mines (6-2) Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with live video and stats available on MSUBSports.com.