Men's basketball wins GCI Alaska Invitational
November 20, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Alaska got off to a quick start, building a 22-point lead in the first half and it was able to stave off Colorado Christian for an 85-72 men's basketball victory to win the 2012 GCI Alaska Invitational on Saturday evening at the Patty Center.
It marked the first time that host Alaska won the event, which is in its fourth year.
Junior guard Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Communications) was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and rightly so, after he turned in an 18-point, eight-assist performance to lead the Nanooks (4-1) to the team title. He averaged 15.3 points and 6.3 assists while shooting better than 65-percent in the three wins.
Joining Voeut on the All-Tournament Team were junior forward Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business and Finance) and junior forward Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration). Tica scored 14 points and hit four treys and averaged 13.0 points, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks on the week. Pucar posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday and tallied 13.0 points 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals at the tournament.
Senior guard Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/Accounting) led all scorers with a game-high 22 points to go with seven assists and six boards. As a team, the Nanooks shot 53-percent to CCU's 44-percent. Alaska edged Christian 32-30 in rebounding and tallied 25 assists on 31 made field goals.
The Cougars (2-3) were paced by Austin Wenger, who came off the bench for 14 points, while Michael Brown and Stephen Dennis each had 11 points. Lance Vesper, who averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds was also named to the All-Tournament squad.
The Nanooks jumped out to the early 8-0 lead due in part to threes by Tica and Brinson. CCU kept the deficit steady but with the Nanooks up 25-15 with just over five to go before halftime, Alaska put together a16-4 run to stretch the advantage to 41-19 with 1:34 to go. The Cougs got the lead down to 41-28 at the break after draining three triples in the final 1:22 of the first.
Alaska held a 54-40 lead with just over 13 minutes to go but a 7-0 spurt that spanned just under 90 seconds gave it a 61-40 advantage. CCU kept fighting and the three started to fall for it as it climbed back to within 10 at 70-60 with 4:18 to play. That would be as close as it would get as timely free throws late preserved the win and tournament title.
The Nanooks head to Bellingham, Wash., next week for a pair of neutral site match-ups at the WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by defending national champion Western Washington. The 'Nooks first take on Southwest Baptist on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (AKST), followed up by a 2 p.m. meeting next Saturday versus Concordia (Minn.).
GCI Alaska Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Alex Fertig, Cal State Monterey Bay
Bill Lee, Oklahoma Panhandle State
Sergej Pucar, Alaska
Stefan Tica, Alaska
Lance Vesper, Colorado Christian
Most Valuable Player: Pat Voeut, Alaska
Team Finish:
1. Alaska (3-0)
2. Oklahoma Panhandle State (1-2)
3. Cal State Monterey Bay (1-2)
4. Colorado Christian (1-2)