FAIRBANKS, AK -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team ended its trip to Alaska with a second impressive victory.
The Golden Eagles took control with a big second-half run and went on to a 82-72 victory Monday night over Alaska Fairbanks at AK Airlines Court. Cal State LA (3-2) finished its trip with a pair of wins over Alaska Fairbanks (2-4) and a hard-fought loss to No. 12 Alaska Anchorage.
Travis Hammonds and
Jordan Wilson had sensational performances, combining for 44 points. Hammonds had 23 points and six rebounds, while Wilson added 21 points. The pair hit 8-of-13 attempts from 3-point range.
Geoffrey Frid was also outstanding, making all seven of his field-goal attempts and finishing with 15 points.
Zach Pederson led Alaska Fairbanks with 19 points, Nahjee Matlock had 15 points and seven rebounds and Bangaly Kaba had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Roderick Evans-Taylor had eight points for the Golden Eagles, while
Jonathan Davis had six points and four rebounds.
Cal State LA shot 47.1 percent (32-of-68) and made 9-of-20 attempts from 3-point range. Alaska Fairbanks shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) and made 5-of-19 attempts from 3-point range. Cal State LA hit all nine of its free-throw attempts, while Alaska Fairbanks was 13-of-18.
Cal State LA had a 33-31 rebounding edge.
The Golden Eagles got off a to good start and scored the first five points of the game after a 3-pointer by Wilson and a basket by Evans-Taylor. A layup by Davis gave the Golden Eagles a 32-23 lead, but Alaska Fairbanks went on an 18-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 41-36. Wilson then hit three 3-pointers and Hammonds hit one to account for a 12-3 run that gave Cal State LA a 48-44 halftime lead.
Alaska Fairbanks took its final lead of the game at 53-52, but Cal State LA went on a game-deciding 16-2 run to turn things around. Evans-Taylor scored to put Cal State LA back ahead and a three-point play by
Miles Ford gave the Golden Eagles a 57-53 lead. The score was still 59-55 when a basket by Frid, a basket by
Devin Means, a basket by Frid and a three-pointer by Hammonds gave the Golden Eagles a 68-55 advantage with 9:50 remaining.
After the Nanooks closed to within 74-68, back-to-back baskets by Hammonds made it 78-68 with 2:29 to go and put the game out of reach.
Cal State LA will return to Southern California and play its next game on Friday against Point Loma at 5:30 p.m. at Azusa Pacific.