Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The 13th-ranked Western Washington men's basketball team suffered its second consecutive loss in a 94-88 defeat at Alaska Fairbanks Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Alaska Airlines Court.

WWU led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but the Nanooks battled back with a 40-23 run over the final 9:14 to finish off the win over the Vikings.

The Vikings, who entered the Alaskan road trip with an 8-game winning streak, fall to 17-5 overall and 11-3 in GNAC play. WWU is now tied for first place in the GNAC with Alaska Anchorage. The Nanooks won their third consecutive game to improve to 11-12 overall and 6-8 in conference play.

Senior guard Taylor Stafford (Chicago, IL/Evansville) led the Vikings with 31 points. He tallied his fifth 30-point game of the season behind 8-for-20 shooting from the field (4-8 3-pointers) and was 11-for-12 from the free throw line. His five 30-point games are second-most in a single season in program history, trailing only nine by Mike Franza in 1972-73.

Redshirt freshman Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) tallied 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting (3-5 3-pointers) and hauled in 5 rebounds. Senior forward Jeffrey Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) added 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting.

Alaska had all five starters reach double-figures in scoring, led by a game-high 36 points from Nahjee Matlock. Matlock was 11-for-18 from the field, connecting on 5-of-7 3-point attempts, and fueled the Nanooks comeback with 25 second-half points. Zach Pederson (16 points), Brandon Davis (13 points), Bangaly Kaba (10 points) and LaDonavan Wilder (10 points) led the Nanooks on offense. Davis secured the double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Vikings were red-hot from the field to open the game going 6-for-9 overall and 6-for-6 from 3-point range to build a 13-point lead at 21-8. WWU expanded the lead to 14 points at 30-16 with 8:08 remaining in the half, but the Nanooks erased the large deficit going on a 21-5 run to pull ahead 37-35 late in the half. Stafford hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 37-37 heading into the half. Western was 5-for-19 and 1-for-9 from 3-point range after the hot start and finished at 40.0% (10-for-25) from the field. Stafford (15 points, 4-8 FG) and Hommes (9 points, 3-4 3-pointers) led the Vikings in scoring in the first half. UAF was led by 11 points from Matlock (4-6 FG).

WWU opened the half on a 14-4 run and had an 11-point lead at 65-54 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. UAF immediately responded with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 3 points at 65-62, and took its first lead of the second half at 79-78 with 2:28 remaining. Stafford hit a long 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining to give the Vikings a 1-point lead at 83-82, but the Nanooks responded on a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach down the stretch. UAF was 10-for-10 from the free throw line down the stretch, and 15-for-18 overall in the second half, to secure the win.

The Vikings return home to Bellingham next week hosting Western Oregon (Thursday, 7 pm) and Concordia (Saturday, 7 pm) at Whatcom Community College.

Game Notes: The Vikings shot 41.8% (23-for-55) for the game, going 10-for-23 from 3-point range and also 32-for-37 (86.5%) from the free throw line...UAF shot at a 50.0% clip (34-for-68), with a 54.3% mark (19-for-35) in the second half...the Nanooks out-scored the Vikings 38-16 in the paint and had an 27-13 edge in points off turnovers...Taylor Stafford played all 40 minutes for the second consecutive game and fifth time this season...Stafford is averaging 21.7 points/game, currently the second-best mark in single-season WWU history (Franza-25.6, Diggs-21.6).