Men's basketball takes down Multnomah 97-62 in exhibition
December 19, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
The Alaska men's basketball closed the 2012 calendar year with a comfortable 97-62 exhibition victory against Multnomah on Tuesday night at the Patty Center.
Five Nanooks scored in double figures in the win, including a game-high 23 points by junior guard Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Communication). Voeut drained five of seven three-point attempts and also tied for a game-best six assists.
Junior forward Stefan Tica had a strong first half as he also went five of seven from three to finish with 19 points and three dimes. Other double-figure contributors were junior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication), junior forward Dallen Bills (Inkom, Idaho/Psychology) and junior center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration), who all combined for 34 points. Bills and Pucar also led all players with eight rebounds apiece.
Alaska shot a little less than 56 percent (40-72 FG) for the game while the Lions had a 38 percent (22-58) success rate from the floor. The Nanooks shot 50 percent from beyond the arc after draining 13 treys while MU had 12 long-range buckets. Alaska controlled the boards 45-24, including 14-6 on the offensive glass, and had 25 assists while turning the ball over only nine times.
The 'Nooks outscored the Lions 52-16 in the paint, turned Multnomah's 14 turnovers into 24 points and held a 23-6 advantage on the fast break. Alaska's bench was also able to produce 34 of the team's total points.
The Lions were led by Austin Hodges, who tallied a team-high 20 points. Steven Bustrin also had 13 points and tied Voeut with a game-high six assists.
Multnomah jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after making its first three shots in the opening 2:03 but Alaska quickly erased the deficit. A Voeut jumper with 17:39 to go sparked a 14-1 run over 3:56 to give the hosts a 14-9 advantage. Holding a 28-24 lead, the Nanooks scored 17 of the game's next 21 points to lead 45-28 and led 47-33 at the break.
Alaska's advantage went to 22 at 60-38 when Pucar had a steal and tossed up a home run pass to a wide open Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/Accounting) for the fast-break layup with 17:29 left. Eventually, Alaska took a 40-point lead twice late in regulation.
The Nanooks return to action Jan. 3, 2013, when they resume Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at Central Washington.