Seawolf men fall 66-62 to Ft. Lewis

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Nov. 8) – Senior guard Kenny Barker had another prolific offensive outing as the Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team dropped its second straight close decision, losing 66-62 Saturday against Fort Lewis in the Disney Division II West Coast Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Barker had 19 points and seven assists for UAA (0-2), while junior forward Casey Robinson chipped in 13 points and sophomore guard Lonnie Rideway scored a career-high 11 points.

Fort Lewis (2-0), meanwhile, rode the sharpshooting inside-outside combination of center Kirk Archibeque and guard Ryan Jameson, who totaled 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

The three-point line was a deciding factors as the Skyhawks nailed 9 of 17 (52 percent) to UAA’s 6 of 25 (24 percent). Rebounding also hurt UAA, which got out-boarded by double-digits for the second day in a row, 34-24.

Saturday’s game was a dogfight early with the teams switching leads throughout the first half. Ridgeway hit a field goal and sank one of two free throws with 4 minutes to play in the first half, tying the contest, 20-20, for the fifth time.

Fort Lewis – the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference West Division preseason favorite – would use an 8-2 run to end the half, however, then stretched its lead as high as 44-27 with 12 minutes left.

The Seawolves still trailed by 59-47 after the 3-minute mark before Barker (5-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 7-8 FT) made a pair of free throws to start a furious comeback.

A pair of Skyhawk turnovers opened the door for the Seawolves, who got two more charities from Rideway and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Brandon Walker to make it 59-54.

UAA continued to claw but would only get as close as 64-62 with one second left, and the Durango, Colo., squad closed the game with a pair of free throws.

Kevin White (Manly) finished with 3 points on 1-of-6 from the field.

The Seawolves get another chance for their first win Sunday when they play West Region and former Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Humboldt State (0-2) at 12:30 p.m. AST.