FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Western Washington University men's basketball team had a big second-half surge, but fell short of a victory Thursday falling to the University of Alaska Fairbanks in a 94-82 defeat in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

WWU trailed by as many as 16 points in the game, including a 52-42 halftime deficit, but pulled to within two points at 75-73 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the conference contest. UAF held off the Vikings comeback attempt for the 12-point victory at the Patty Center.

The Vikings dropped to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in GNAC play to sit in a 6th-place tie for the final spot that would qualify for the conference championships tournament in early March.

Junior All-America candidate Kai Johnson led all players with 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting, adding six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots in the all-around effort. The GNAC's leading scorer reached double-figures in scoring for the 25th consecutive game and tallied his 17th game with 20-or-more points.

Senior forward Jonathan Ned added 19 points and junior forward Nic Welp recorded his team-leading sixth double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. WWU shot 48.4-percent as a team  (31-for-62) and were limited to 8-for-23 shooting from beyond the arc.

UAF (6-15, 4-9 GNAC) was led by 20 points from Tyriq Luke on 9-for-11 shooting and 18 points each by Abdullahi Mohamed and Jaycson Bereal Jr. The Nanooks combined to shoot 54.1-percent (40-for-74) for their second-highest team field goal percentage shooting performance of the season.

The Nanooks scored the first six points of the second half to expand their lead to 16 points at 58-42, but WWU cut into the deficit going on a 9-0 run to trail by just two points at 75-73 with 9:46 remaining. The WWU scoring outburst would be short-lived as the Nanooks responded scoring five consecutive points to go up 80-73 and went on to the 12-point 94-82 victory.

The Vikings led by as many as six points midway through the first half at 25-19, but Fairbanks went on a 21-4 run to take an 11-point lead at 40-29 with 5:41 remaining in the half. UAF extended the lead to as many as 14 points at 52-38, but WWU scored the final four points of the half to pull to within 10 points at 52-42. Jonathan Ned led WWU with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes on 4-for-8 shooting (2-for-3 3FG) and Will Wilson added nine points for the Vikings. UAF shot 52.5-percent in the opening 20 minutes (21-for-40) and was led by 12 points from Abdullahi Mohamed and 10 points by Trey Anderson.

The Vikings (14-11, 6-8 GNAC) remain on the road completing their Alaskan road trip on Saturday taking on Alaska Anchorage (16-8, 6-7 GNAC) in a game that is set to tip-off at 5:15 pm AKT/6:15 pm PT. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

Junior guard Kai Johnson earned yet another WECU Player of the Game award scoring a game-high 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting, while also grabbing six rebounds and totaling six assists, two steals and two blocked shots. The GNAC leading scorer reached double-digits in scoring for his 25th consecutive game.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and UAF:

WWU split the regular-season series vs. UAF, winning 119-92 on January 20 in Carver Gym, with the Vikings tying its single-game scoring mark in a GNAC contest. This marks the second consecutive season to split the regular-season series, with each team winning at home. WWU holds a 39-18 lead in the all-time series vs. the Nanooks, including a 9-4 record in the last 13 games.

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:

Here is an updated look at the 2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball standings following play on Thursday, with the Vikings in a tie for 6th place in the table. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com.

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the 12-point loss Thursday at UAF:

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 12 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has 20-win seasons in three of the last five years (and seven of 10) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 15 winningest Division II programs with its 1,557 all-time victories.