Isaiah Moses, Patrick McMahon
Two of the best ballers Alaska has to offer faced off in a Big Sky Conference game on Thursday, and Isaiah Moses and Patrick McMahon made The Last Frontier look good.
Moses, of Anchorage, went for 24 points and had a hand in Eastern Washington’s final 10 points in a frantic 65-second finish, while McMahon, of Palmer, bagged 20 points and gave Montana State the lead for good in a 68-64 win in Cheney, Wash.
The game featured 16 lead changes and the Alaskans combined for four of them – two apiece, including back-to-back buckets in the second half with Moses putting EWU up 32-31 only to have McMahon come back to put MSU ahead 33-32.
At crunch time, neither flinched as McMahon provided six points during a 10-0 run that put MSU up 58-49. Meanwhile, Moses nearly brought his team back, scoring eight points in 49 seconds and assisting on a layup with 4 seconds left that got his team as close as 64-62.
McMahon ranks ninth in the Big Sky at 14.5 points per game. Photo by Braedon Harlow.
McMahon, a senior starter out of Colony High and the 2021 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year, made 7-of-13 field goals to post his fifth 20-point game of the season. The 6-foot-7 forward added five rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.
McMahon is tied for ninth in the Big Sky in scoring at 14.5 points per game. He averaged 10.8 points last season and 13.0 in limited action two years ago.
In 2022, he had one of the better NCAA Tournament debuts for an Alaskan with seven points off the bench against No. 3 seed Texas Tech. He’s fought through injuries to stay on the court, and now, he’s excelling – especially recently.
McMahon has started 26 of the last 41 games and averaged 12.1 points during that time.
Moses ranks third in the Big Sky at 17.3 points per game. Photo by Bridgett Mayfield
Moses, a senior starter out of Dimond High and the 2020 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year, went 6-for-20 from the field and 10-for-10 at the line to bag his fifth 20-point game (one was a 30-ball). The 6-foot guard drilled two 3-pointers and added three assists in 33 minutes.
Moses ranks fifth in the Big Sky in scoring at 17.3 points per game.
He started his college career as a JC All-American before going to UC Riverside for two years. He transferred to Eastern Washington this season.
With his 24 points Thursday, Moses increased his career total to 1,577 and moved past Kyle Bailey (1,571) for 15th place on Alaska’s all-time college scoring list. Bailey, of Fairbanks, played at Santa Clara from 2000-05.
Next on the list is Nome’s Justinian Jessup, who scored 1,583 points at Boise State from 2016-20. Jessup is currently playing in the EuroLeague for German power Bayern Munich.
Moses and McMahon will face off again Feb. 7, when EWU travels to Montana State.
