FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Minnesota State University Moorhead shot 15-for-27 from the 3-point arc to defeat the University of West Alabama 86-75 in the first day of the 2014 Alaska Invitational at Patty Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Thursday.  

Minnesota State Moorhead improves to 3-0 overall, while West Alabama falls to 0-3.

"We put the scores of all three of our games side-by-side in the locker room after the game, and the scores are all very similar, especially for our offense. We just have to guard better," said UWA Head Coach Allen Sharpe.

"75 points is supposed to be enough to win the game and has been for as long as I've been coaching. We need more urgency on defense. Our shooting percentage and turnovers are good, we just need to get on people defensively."

Jordan Riewer led the Dragons perimeter shooting with 5-for-8 three-point field goals. Aaron Lien and Ngijol Songolo followed each hitting 3-for-4. Reiwer totaled 21 points, Songolo 17 and Lien 11. MSUM ended 27-for-61 from the field.

After seven lead changes in the first half, the Tigers trailed by one point in the final two minutes of the half, but a 7-0 point run gave MSUM a 43-35 lead at the break. UWA rallied back to cut the deficit to two in the first five minutes of the second half, however, the Dragons never let the lead fall less than 12 points in the final ten minutes.

West Alabama posted 28-for-52 from the field and 15-for-27 from the arc, with three Tigers hitting double-digit scoring figures for the third straight game. Justin Wright led with 18 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field.

Terrance Carroll was UWA's greatest perimeter threat, tallying 4-for-7 from the arc in the second half. Carroll totaled 16 points, while Lleon Tillman followed with 12 points.

The Tigers out-rebounded the Dragons 34-32. Tillman, Wright and Jarell Byrd each posted seven boards.

The tournament continues for the Tigers on Friday when they take host school Alaska Fairbanks at 10 p.m. (C.S.T.)  

"We are about to get our backs against the wall here, we have to win a game," Sharpe said. "I don't know if I have ever been 0-3 to start a season, hopefully none of these guys have either, so it shouldn't take much to fire these guys up to play. Tomorrow ought not be an issue for us to get fired up to play. Thank goodness we do play tomorrow."