The UAF men’s basketball team was named our Alaska Athletes of the Week after their stunning performance at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament in Lacey, Washington.
Led by tournament MVP and All Conference senior guard Shadeed Shabbaz, the No. 10-seeded Nanooks completed an unlikely tourney run by upsetting Central Washington 72-57 in the title game.
UAF entered the GNAC tournament as the lowest seed with an 8-14 record, but ran off four straight victories in four days to take its first conference championship since 2005.
The Nanooks, who also got outstanding play from seniors Koby Huerta and Coleman Sparling and sophomore Abdullahi Mohamed throughout the tournament, earned an automatic bid into the NCAA DII Championships with the win.
The Alaska Athlete of the Week is selected by a panel each Monday.
Have a candidate in mind? Email us your nomination: info@alaskasportshall.org.
Also receiving votes: Landon Colburn, Brody Jessee, Alev Kelter, Darci and Olivia Matson, David Norris, Travante Williams,
Featured photo by Ron Smith.