Men's basketball drops 72-63 decision to Colorado Christian
November 13, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Michael Brown led five Colorado Christian players in double figures as it was able to fend off Alaska 72-63 in men's basketball at the AT&T Jamboree at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Josh McBeth and Michael Stamer both had 11 points for the Cougars (1-1) while Dylan Crist and Kyle Weaver both tallied 10 points. Weaver also had a team-high eight rebounds.
The Nanooks (1-1) were paced by junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration), who posted a double-double with game-highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds. Junior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business and Finance) hit three treys and scored 11 points while junior guard Ronnie Baker added 10 points.
CCU shot 45.5-percent from the floor while limiting Alaska to 32.8-percent shooting. The victors also drained 11-of-22 threes while the 'Nooks made only six from beyond the arc. Alaska held the rebounding edge 39-30 but CCU had only nine turnovers to the Nanooks' 13. The Cougars also had 21 assists, to the 'Nooks' 13.
The Cougars built a sizeable lead early in the first half but with under two minutes to go in the stanza, Alaska tied it up at 26. A three-pointer by McBeth with 1:17 to go sparked an 8-0 run to end the half and gave CCU a 34-26 lead at the break.
The Nanooks opened the second with a 14-6 run in the opening 4:10 to knot it up at 40-40 but Christian scored on its next two possessions to lead 45-40 with 13:36 to go. Leading 45-43, a Stamer lay-up started a 7-0 run over 1:20 to give the Cougars a 52-43 lead with 10:21 to go.
The 'Nooks cut it to four at 57-53 with 4:32 to go but Colorado Christian answered with a 11-1 run to hold a comfortable 68-54 advantage with 2:31 to play.
Alaska returns home to Fairbanks to host the GCI Alaska Invitational Nov. 15-17 at the Patty Center. Colorado Christian will participate, along with Cal State Monterey Bay and Oklahoma Panhandle State.
Following Alaska Anchorage's 85-75 win over Colorado State-Pueblo, Tica was named to the All-Tournament team.
2012 All-AT&T Jamboree Team
Michael Brown (CCU)
Kyle Fossman (UAA)
Liam Gibcus (UAA)
Michael Stamer (CCU)
Stefan Tica (Alaska)
Most Outstanding Player: Teancum Stafford (UAA)