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FAIRBANKS — The Nanooks are feeling better — even if the final score Sunday did not reflect their competitiveness at Cal State San Bernardino.

“I feel better. I’m still not happy,” Alaska coach Clemon Johnson said after the 87-65 defeat. “I felt this is one we could have had.”

Only 18 hours after an embarrassing 36-point thrashing Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Nanooks stormed out to a 23-9 lead against the 20th-ranked Coyotes less than seven minutes into the matinee.

Junior guard Jon Moe keyed the early advantage, pouring in 13 points in the first five minutes. His third 3-pointer prompted the Coyotes’ radio announcer to exclaim “Is that Brad Oleson out there, or Jon Moe?!”

Being compared to the Nanooks’ all-time leading scorer was a high compliment indeed, though Moe cooled down. Then sophomore forward Nashorn Maynard took over, posting a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half alone.

“I didn’t like the way I performed (against Dominguez Hills). I put it in my head that today I was going to go for everything,” Maynard said.

Maynard even outrebounded the entire San Bernardino squad 11-9 to lead an astounding 29-9 Nanooks advantage on the boards at intermission. That statistic, coupled with Alaska’s 55 percent shooting, created a 41-35 advantage at the break.

The margin would have been greater were it not for 16 Nanooks turnovers, many caused by a half-court trap that caught Alaska off-guard, Johnson said.

As bright as the forecast looked early, it went dark late as Alaska’s fatigue and turnovers (28 for the game) plus the Coyotes’ hot 3-point shooting (9-for-13 in the second half) ultimately doomed the Nanooks.

“(The final score) was totally misleading. We were in this ball game for three quarters of the game,” Johnson said by phone from the Ontario, Calif., airport. “The last 10 minutes, I looked at my ballplayers and they were dead (tired). … (Bernardino) did an excellent job. They wore us down.”

Alaska’s exhaustion was exacerbated because it suited only 10 players and got limited minutes from starter Colin Matteson (knee pain) and reserves Aaron Jones (groin) and Demetrius Love (knee).

“Everybody was playing hard. We all got winded,” said Maynard, who logged 35 minutes.

Nevertheless, the Nanooks still led 56-55 with 10 minutes left after responding to a 20-4 San Bernardino run with six straight points on layups by Maynard, Jones and Kevin Buggs.

But the Nanooks’ shooting went cold, as they missed eight straight attempts and committed four turnovers in seven hapless minutes. During the same stretch, the Coyotes’ Ryan Kinney and Reggie Brown combined to drain five 3-pointers, unfazed by the extra foot of distance instituted this season. The first, by Kinney, gave San Bernardino the lead for good with 8:07 remaining.

“They were suckering us in and then kicking it back out,” Johnson said.

After the long-range assault, the Nanooks trailed 77-58. For good measure, Kinney and Brown each tacked on another trey before the final horn.

Kinney, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward who averaged 2.7 points a year ago, poured in 21 off the bench by making seven 3s with just two misses.

Moe led the Nanooks with 20 points and Maynard amassed 16 points and 14 boards. Love contributed seven points and nine rebounds after fouling out in a scoreless opener.

But what impressed Johnson most was the team’s pregame attitude after getting destroyed by Dominguez Hills the night before.

“What amazed me about this team is the maturity,” Johnson said. “They were like ‘Coach, relax.’ That’s something I’m supposed to be telling them.”

The Nanooks will have a mellow day today before meeting Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday in Northern California.

Though they’ve begun the season with two losses by a combined 58 points, Maynard’s confidence has not wavered.

“I feel like we’re going to win (Tuesday’s) game, no doubt,” Maynard said from the San Francisco airport on Sunday night. “The team chemistry is a lot better. I think the guys are ready to go.”