Box Score | Game Book

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University had four players score in double figures as the No. 24 Vikings beat Alaska Fairbanks 78-69 Thursday evening in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest at Whatcom Pavilion.

WWU improves to 10-3 overall and remains atop the GNAC standings with a 4-1 mark in league play, tied with its next opponent Alaska Anchorage. Fairbanks falls to 6-8 overall and 1-4 in league play.

"We hit a stretch were we lost a few games after a great start and doubt starts to set in," said head coach Tony Dominguez. "To change that, you have to focus and dial in. We did that in some good stretches tonight and took a good step forward. I am proud of the guys for the way they practiced all week and competed tonight to pick up a big win."

Senior forward Jeffrey Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) led all Vikings with 18 points, scoring 15 in the first half. Senior guard Taylor Stafford (Chicago, IL/Evansville) added 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists.

Sophomore guard Trey Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) tabbed the double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and redshirt freshman forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) had 13 points and 7 boards.

Sophomore center Logan Schilder (Bellingham, WA/Whatcom CC) filled up the stat sheet with 8 points on 4-for-5 shooting, with 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

"It was an all-around good team win tonight with lots of guys chipping in," added Dominguez. "It was important to get Jeffrey (Parker) going early to get him back into things, and Trey (Drechsel) was all over the floor in the second half."

The Nanooks were led by a game high 20 points from forward Bangaly Kaba (7-for-15 FG) and 16 points from forward Zach Pederson (7-for-13 FG).

The Vikings shot 46.7% from the floor (28-for-60), compared to UAF's 42.1% (24-for-57). WWU had a decisive edge out-rebounding the Nanooks 42-25, with a 26-18 advantage in offensive rebounds. Both teams shot well from the free throw line, with WWU going 17-for-21 (81.0%) and UAF going 15-for-17 (88.2%).

Western trailed for nearly all of the first 15 minutes of the game, with the Nanooks leading by as many as 8 points at the 12:49 mark. Trailing 25-20, the Vikings went on a 14-0 run to take a 9-point lead at 34-25 with 3:42 remaining in the half. UAF cut into the lead going on an 8-0 run to make it 34-33 at the 1-minute mark, but WWU closed out the half scoring the last 5 points to take a 39-33 halftime lead.

Parker scored 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting to lead all players in the half, followed by 10 points from Stafford. Kaba was 5-for-9 from the field and led UAF with 13 points.

WWU carried its momentum into the second half extending its lead to as many as 16 points at 58-42 with 11:41 remaining in the game. The Nanooks, however, whittled away at the lad going on an extended 25-14 run to cut the Western lead to 5 points at 72-67 with a little over two minutes remaining. Stafford hit a big 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining to extend the lead to 8 points and putting the game out of reach for WWU's 10th victory of the season.

Drechsel led the Vikings with 11 second-half points, followed by 8 from Hommes.

The Vikings return to action Saturday with a matchup against GNAC co-leader Alaska Anchorage (10-3, 4-1 GNAC) at 7 pm at Whatcom Pavilion. The game will be streamed online via WWUVikings.com/Live and carried over the radio by KBAI 930 AM & 98.9 FM.

2016-17 Men's Basketball Updated Standings