UAF tallied up wins last Thursday and Saturday, one against the Western Oregon Wolverines in a game that wasn't pretty, and another against the Humboldt State Lumberjacks that was about as nice as it gets.

Despite the win Thursday, both players and coaches were dismayed over what they felt was a weak showing against a team that had lost its last four games. Four Nanooks scored in double digits, but the game was much closer than the 71-56 score showed.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a team that is worse at improving on our weaknesses than this one is," said head coach Frank Ostanik. "I just don't know why we can't play hard for 40 minutes."

"We have to turn over the ball less," said forward Ivan Miskovich. "We have to stay focused and take care of the ball."

The Wolves led 12-6 early in the first half, but were cut off by Justin Bourne, who scored two consecutive baskets and dished an assist to guard Alex Von Tellrop to tie the game. Western Oregon would lead again only once, and it was all over but the shoutin', when the Nooks went on a 16-0 run with four and a half minutes remaining in the second half.

Sophomore Chris Jordan led all scorers with 19 points, including an awesome three-pointer late in the game over the head of Wolves' big man Kevin Boss, who had blocked Jordan's lay-up attempt the possession before. Jordan shot an impressive 3 of 6 from three-point range, as well as making 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. Sophomore point guard Kenny Barker was second in scoring, shooting 5 for 9 from the field for 14 points. Bourne, a senior, played an excellent game, shooting 3 for 5 from the field and 6 for 8 from the line for a total of 12 points, along with seven assists and four steals in 37 minutes. Along with 11 points, one of which was a poetic slam-dunk, senior forward Andrew Smith slammed two big blocks to set a new school record for career blocked shots, with 92. UAF great Jason Williams, who played from 2001-2003 and had a career high of 91, previously held the record. "He was a beast," Smith reminisced.

Oregon's Kevin Tyner led the Wolves in points with 18, 11 of which were free throws.

At halftime, UAF honored Nanook legend Milo Griffin, who played ball from

1965-69, by retiring his no. 44 jersey. Griffin is the second all-time leading scorer in UAF history with 1,682 points and maintains the single-game record with 43 points that he scored against Saint Martin's on Feb. 3, 1968. Griffin said he felt great about the ceremony, which received numerous standing ovations from the crowd. "And maybe the next guy won't have to wait 40 years to get his number retired," he said with a grin.

The Nanooks didn't have to wait long for their next win, a 92-79 victory that Coach Ostanik did not expect.

"We're gonna get our asses handed to us," predicted Ostanik after Thursday's game.

But the Nanooks kept hold of their asses and Saturday's contest, leading the Lumberjacks for the entire game, save for the back-and-forth action early in the first half that was obliterated by a huge Mike Titus three-pointer and an 11-2 scoring run for the Nanooks.

After Titus's second bucket from behind the arc, a Nanook steal on defense put the ball into Kenny Barker's hands. Barker, avoiding two defenders, dribbled behind his back, causing the two Humboldt players to collide and fall to the floor.

The Nanook defense started to dominate late in the first half with tight coverage that forced several turnovers. The Humboldt guards looked like a certain Denver quarterback unable to find open receivers. Forward Andrew Smith was robbed of a block by the referees when his all-ball contact resulted in a foul, to the booing of the 703 fans in attendance. Smith would go on to tally a season-high 25 points, and led the team with eight rebounds.

True to form, Austin Autry got the crowd stoked up with a three-pointer that put the Nanooks up by ten points going into the half.

UAF returned to the court looking a little slow for the beginning of the second half, but the pace of their defense soon picked up where they had left off. At one point, Smith grabbed a steal on an inbound pass, and angrily dunked the ball one-handed on his opponent's head.

The Lumberjacks would narrow the score to six points, 63-57, with under nine minutes left in the game, but the Nanooks would not let up. Chris Jordan, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 16 points in the second frame. Justin Bourne and Mike Titus joined Smith and Jordan in the double-digit scoring with 14 and 13 points respectively.

Humboldt's Kevin Johnson led both teams in scoring, with 26 points, 12 of which came from three-point land.

After Saturday's game, The Nanooks had improved to 12-5 overall and 5-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, good enough for third place in the standings. Oregon fell to 6-9 overall and 1-5 in conference play, and Humboldt dropped 9-6 overall, and 3-4 in conference play.

The Alaska Fairbanks men's basketball team returns to action Jan. 28 when intra-state rival Alaska Anchorage comes to Fairbanks. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at the Patty Center.