Friday, March 6, 2020
SEATTLE – One year ago, Western Washington found themselves hosting the GNAC Championships and watching the games from the stands. A year later, the program is back where they want to be.
The No. 2 seeded Vikings used a 14-2 run over a five-minute stretch late in the second half to knock off No. 6 seed Alaska in the semifinals, 76-64, to earn a spot in the final in the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships on Friday at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
Senior forward Trevor Jasinsky led the Vikings (19-10) with 24 points, connecting on 8 of 14 from the field and 5 of 9 from three-point range. Freshman guard D’Angelo Minnis added 14 points and senior Cameron Retherford scored 11. Western Washington shot 50 percent from the field while Jasinsky accounted for five of the Vikings’ seven made three-pointers. Western Washington outrebounded Alaska 33-23
Junior Shadeed Shabazz led the Nanooks (12-18) with 29 points, 15 in the second half, making 11 of 24 from the field. He was the only UAF player to score in double figures as the Nanooks finished shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point range.
With the win, Western Washington advances to its fifth GNAC Championships final and it's first since 2017. The Vikings will face the winner of the second semifinal between Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific.
Western Washington was fresh and it showed with a 7-0 run over the first three minutes of the game, which culminated one of Retherford’s two dunks in the period. Shabazz did his part to keep the Nanooks in it early by scoring the team’s first six points, including a four-point play at the 15:31 mark that made it a 10-6 game. The Vikings kept the scoring margin in check through the middle minutes, extending the lead to 21-13 on Logan Schilder’s lay-in with 9:19 left.
The Nanooks went on a 7-2 run over the next four minutes, most of it with Shabazz on the bench. Spencer Sweet’s long jumper with 5:46 left brought UAF within 23-21 and Koby Huerta tied it at 30-30 on his two free throws with 1:43 left. Western Washington went back up four on a pair of Jasinsky free throws before Alex Sommerfield hit a long three with five seconds left to keep the Nanooks with one at halftime, 34-33.
The second half started the same way as the first with the Vikings going on a 6-0 run over the first two minutes. The Nanooks replied with a 6-0 run of its own to come back to tie it at 40-40 on Shabazz’s three-pointer at the 16:33 mark. He then connected on a lay-in a minute later to give UAF its first lead of the game, 44-43. It was short-lived, however, as WWU went on an 8-3 over the next three minutes ending with Minnis’ three-pointer that made it a 52-46 lead with 13:20 to go.
After a stretch that saw both teams score just two points over five minutes, the Vikings started their late surge to secure the win. Luke Lovelady extended the lead to 58-48 with his lay-in at the 7:57 mark before a Nanooks’ surge fueled by Shabazz brought UAF back to within 60-57 with 5:56 to go. Western Washington put the game out of reach with a 14-2 run over the next five minutes, which included 9 of 12 from the free-throw line.