Western Washington University men’s basketball team closed out a physical matchup against the University of Alaska Fairbanks 87-80 Thursday night, Feb. 10.
The game was neck-and-neck from the tip-off. Alaska scored first, but for the first five minutes, Western answered each Nanook score, keeping it within two points.
Western junior guard D’Angelo Minnis scored first for the Vikings. A step-back jumper from the free-throw line made Minnis the 27th player in the men’s program history to score 1,000 career points.
Senior guard Daniel Hornbuckle jumps on D’Angelo Minnis after Minnis received a commemorative ball in recognition of his 1,000 career points.
(Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
“I’m just happy we won, to be honest,” Minnis said when asked about the milestone. “I don’t want the season to be over.”
Alaska went on a three-minute 6-2 run to go up 12-6, its largest lead of the night.
From there, however, the Vikings spread the ball around on the way to their first lead of the night, getting ahead 23-21 with nine minutes remaining in the first half. Coming off the bench, junior forward Darius Gary led the run with six points in that span — including a deafening dunk that tied the game for the first time at 19-19.
Western junior forward Darius Gary drives through the lane.
(Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
The Nanooks continued fighting, but the Vikings outscored Alaska 31-21 to go into halftime up 54-42.
After seven first-half lead changes, Western wouldn’t relinquish the lead again.
The Vikings continued to gradually outscore Alaska in the second act, gaining a 17-point lead — their largest lead of the night — with 18 minutes to play.
D’Angelo Minnis reaches for the ball after he poked it free from Alaska junior guard Bryan Nguyen.
(Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
A slew of fouls against the Vikings quickly got the team into trouble and shifted the pace of play in the second half. Just eight minutes removed from halftime, Western accrued six team fouls to Alaska’s one, triggering 10 second-half bonus free throws for the Nanooks.
Scoring was near even in the middle of the second half and Western showed flashes of excellence. An explosive sequence featured a rim-rattling jam from redshirt freshman forward BJ Kolly.
“BJ, you’re the father,” sophomore forward Nic Welp yelled from the bench after Kolly returned to Earth.
Western redshirt freshman forward BJ Kolly (23) hovers above the rim before slamming down an alley-oop from senior guard Daniel Hornbuckle (3).
(Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
Alaska gained some momentum of its own later in the half, bringing the game within four points with just under three minutes left.
Two possessions later, the Vikings regrouped during a media timeout. Seven of Western’s 11 losses this season have been within two possessions.
“I just said, ‘We’re not going to let this happen again,'” Western head coach Tony Dominguez said. “We talked about staying positive and moving to the next play. That’s kind of been our mantra these last couple of weeks especially … we just don’t have time to worry about [the negatives].”
The Vikings showed fortitude on both ends of the court and kept the Nanooks down for the final minutes.
Western senior guard Daniel Hornbuckle led the game in scoring with 19 points. Sophomore guard Kai Johnson followed up with 18 points — including a two-handed jam — and was a board away from a double-double.
The win keeps the Vikings one game ahead of the University of Alaska Anchorage (11-11, 5-8 GNAC), who they will host on Saturday. The game tips off at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.
