UAA trio tabbed preseason All-GNAC

PORTLAND, Ore. (Oct. 17) – Alaska Anchorage’s Kyle Fossman, Teancum Stafford and Travis Thompson were among 16 players named Thursday to the 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team.

Fossman and Stafford were both unanimous selections in balloting by the league’s 10 head coaches, while Thompson’s inclusion gave UAA a tie for the most honorees, along with three apiece from Seattle Pacific and Central Washington.

Fossman, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior guard, was a First Team All-GNAC performer last season, leading the Seawolves with 14.8 points per game. The Haines native posted top-5 GNAC ranks in three-pointers per game (2.6, 2nd), minutes per game (36.2, 3rd), three-point percentage (.445, 5th) and free-throw percentage (.854, 5th) as the Seawolves finished 18-9 overall and third in the GNAC at 11-7.

Stafford, a 6-5, 205-pound junior guard/forward, was a Second Team All-GNAC pick in his first season as a Seawolf. The Auburn, Wash., product tallied 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, scoring double figures in 22 of his 26 appearances, including a streak of 12 straight games to end the season.

Thompson, a 6-1, 195-pound guard, earned Second Team All-GNAC honors as a sophomore in 2011-12 before redshirting last season. The local Dimond High School product led the GNAC with 47.6 percent three-point shooting and a 2.7-to-1 assist-turnover ratio two years ago, while helping that squad to a 23-7 record and a second-round NCAA berth.

UAA makes its 2013-14 debut with an exhibition game against the Seawolf Alumni on Oct. 25 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

2013-14 GNAC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
*David Downs, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-2, Sr., Kirkland, WA)
*Mark McLaughlin, Central Washington (G, 6-6, Sr., Bothell, WA)
*Richard Woodworth, Western Washington (G, 6-3, Sr., Bellevue, WA)
*Kyle Fossman, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-0, Sr., Haines, AK)
*Patrick Simon, Seattle Pacific (F, 6-8, Sr., Ephrata, WA)
*Teancum Stafford, Alaska Anchorage (G/F, 6-5, Jr., Auburn, WA)
*Sergej Pucar, Alaska Fairbanks (C, 6-11, Sr., Belgrade, Serbia)
*Kevin Rima, Northwest Nazarene (F, 6-7, Jr., Fairbanks, AK)
*Austin Bragg, Western Washington (F, 6-9, Sr., Longview, WA)
Travis Thompson, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-1, Jr., Anchorage, AK)
Andy Avgi, Western Oregon (F, 6-6, So., Woodburn, OR)
Riley Stockton, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-4, Jr., Spokane, WA)
JB Pillard, Central Washington (F, 6-6, Sr., Kirkland, WA)
Kevin Davis, Central Washington (C, 6-9, Sr., Federal Way, WA)
Kalob Hatcher, Montana State Billings (G, 5-11, Sr., San Diego, CA)
David Gebru, Simon Fraser  (F/C, 6-9, Sr., Seattle, WA)
*Unanimous

 

 

Nate Sagan
Sports Information Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK  9508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com

 

Seawolves picked 2nd in GNAC men's hoops poll

PORTLAND, Ore. (Oct. 15) – The Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team has been picked to finish second in the 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference title chase, according to the league’s 13th annual coaches’ poll, released Tuesday.

The Seawolves – coming off an 18-9 season and a third-place GNAC finish at 11-7 – finished behind Seattle Pacific in voting by the league’s coaches, earning the only first-place vote that did not go to the Falcons.

UAA totaled 86 points in the poll, while two-time defending GNAC and NCAA Div. II champion Western Washington claimed third place with 80 tallies. Central Washington (70) and Alaska Fairbanks (62) rounded out the top five in the 10-team league.

The Seawolves return four starters from 2012-13 – senior guards Kyle Fossman and Colton Lauwers, junior wing Teancum Stafford, and sophomore forward Christian Leckband.

Fossman was a first-team all-league pick after averaging a team-high 14.8 points, along with 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while Stafford earned second-team honors with numbers of 14.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 2.2 apg. Also returning is 2011-12 second-team all-league selection Travis Thompson, a 6-1 guard who averaged 11.8 points as a sophomore before redshirting last year.

The Seawolves will make their debut with an alumni exhibition game on Oct. 25 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex at 6 p.m.

2013-14 GNAC Coaches Poll  2012-13 Recs., Pl.  Pts
1. Seattle Pacific (9)    27-4 (16-2, 2nd)    99
2. Alaska Anchorage (1)   18-9 (11-7, 3rd)    86
3. Western Washington     31-3 (17-1, 1st)    80
4. Central Washington     15-13 (8-10, 6th)   70
5. Alaska Fairbanks       16-12 (10-8, 4th)   62
6. Western Oregon         10-16 (5-13, 9th)   44
7. Montana State Billings 16-14 (9-9, 5th)    41
8. Northwest Nazarene     13-13 (7-11, 7th)   30
9. Simon Fraser           6-20 (1-17, 10th)   20
10. Saint Martin’s         10-16 (6-12, 8th)   18
(Note: First-place votes in parenthesis.  Points awarded on 11-9-8-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.)

--GoSeawolves.com--

 

Nate Sagan
Sports Information Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK  9508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com

 

California walk-on Baisa joins Seawolf men

ANCHORAGE (Oct. 15) – Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball coach Rusty Osborne announced the final addition to his 2013-14 roster Tuesday, welcoming guard DeVante Baisa to the Seawolves program.

 

A 5-10, 160-pound guard from Tracy, Calif., Baisa averaged 16.3 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 steals as a senior at Kimball High School in 2012-13, earning second-team all-league honors. The Jaguars’ team captain and MVP the last two seasons was selected to play in the 2013 Modesto County All-Star Game after setting school single-game records for points (31), three-pointers (7) and assists (12).

 

The three-year letterwinner also helped his team to the titles of both the Tracy/West and Granada tournaments last year.

 

“DeVante is a young player who brings depth to our backcourt,” said Osborne, whose Seawolves begin their first day of official practice today. “He can play point guard and shooting guard, and once he adjusts to the speed and physical play at this level, he has the potential to help us. In addition, he is also an excellent student, distinguishing himself in that area too. We are pleased to have such a quality student-athlete join our team as a walk-on.”

 

The Seawolves begin the season Nov. 2 with an exhibition game at Div. I Brigham Young, before traveling to Southern California for a Nov. 4 exhibition against The Master’s College, and the regular-season openers in the annual Disney’s Tip-Off Classic, Nov. 8-10.

 

--GoSeawolves.com--

 

Nate Sagan
Sports Information Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK  9508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com