THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF MEN’S BASKETBALL ...
Monday, Dec. 16 — 7 pm — Wells Fargo Sports Complex — Anchorage, AK
Northland International (4-9) at Alaska Anchorage (6-4)
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Tuesday, Dec. 17 — 7 pm — Wells Fargo Sports Complex — Anchorage, AK
Northland International at Alaska Anchorage
RADIO: Live locally on FM-93.7 KAFC
TV: Catch the delayed telecast at 11 p.m. each night on KCFT (GCI Ch. 19)
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com
ONLINE: All UAA home games feature free live video and live stats. Surf to GoSeawolves.com and follow the links in the upper right-hand corner … follow Seawolf Athletics as well on Facebook (Alaska Anchorage Seawolves) and Twitter (@UAASeawolves).
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2013-14 stats)
G—Brian McGill, 6-2/185, So. (17.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.2 apg, .496 FG, .462 3FG, .857 FT)
G—Travis Thompson, 6-1/185, Jr. (21.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, .420 3FG, .922 FT)
G—Kyle Fossman, 6-0/180, Sr. (16.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, .463 3FG, .867 FT)
F—Teancum Stafford, 6-5/205, Jr. (14.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .532 FG, .359 3FG)
C—Brad Mears, 6-9/230, Jr. (4.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .529 FG, 5 blocks, 14.7 mpg)
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Northland International (formerly known as Northland Baptist) play is located in Dunbar, Wis., and plays in the National Christian College Athletic Association Div. II … the Pioneers are led by 5-10 Sr. G Micah Baines (18.6 ppg, 3.0 apg, .831 FT%) and 6-5 Sr. F Anthony Lewis (17.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg, .872 FT%).
ALL-TIME vs NORTHLAND INT’L: UAA leads 3-0 (all at UAA) / Last Meeting: UAA 96-62 (11/4/05 at UAA) / Notes: UAA has won all three meetings by at least 34 points … UAA’s 118-39 win in the first meeting on Nov. 7, 1996 still stands as the second-largest margin of victory in program history and the largest ever at the WFSC.
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA NIU
UAA Home/Opp. Road 4-3 0-4
Points per Game 83.3 73.4
Points Allowed per Game 74.8 82.8
Rebounding Differential -2.7 -8.4
Assists per Game 16.6 12.0
Turnovers per Game 9.0 17.0
Steals per Game 4.8 8.4
Blocks per Game 1.6 3.1
FG% .461 .422
3-pt FG% .392 .263
FT% .792 .704
SWEET SIXTEEN: So. PG Brian McGill had 29 points and 10 assists Dec. 7 as UAA pulled away for a 96-76 victory over Alaska Fairbanks in the league opener for both teams at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex … UAA also got 20 points and a career-high 8 rebounds from Jr. G Travis Thompson to help the Seawolves extend their win streak to series-best 16 against their oldest rivals … Jr. G/F Teancum Stafford tied his career-high with 12 rebounds and Sr. G Kyle Fossman added 18 points (4-7 3FG) and 6 assists as UAA shot 51 percent and won the rebounding battle 39-33 … … the Seawolves also got a big lift off the bench from So. F Christian Leckband, who sparked a first-half rally with a driving dunk and finished with season-highs of 9 points and 8 rebounds … UAA ended with an 11-game win streak against UAF at the WFSC, which is hosting its final season of basketball before the Seawolves move to the Alaska Airlines Center next fall … UAF’s last win in Anchorage came Feb. 22, 2003.
McGILL NETS GNAC RED LION HONOR: So. PG Brian McGill was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s Red Lion Player of the Week for men’s basketball on Monday, following his 29-point, 10-assist performance in Saturday’s league-opening victory over Alaska Fairbanks … McGill became just the fifth player in 14 years to tally at least 25 points and 10 assists in a GNAC game, shooting 8 of 12 from the field – including 2 of 2 on three-pointers – and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line … the Clackamas, Ore., native leads the GNAC with a 3.4-to-1 assist-turnover ratio, along with other ranks of 2nd in assists (6.2 apg), 5th in scoring (17.2 ppg) and minutes (35.0 mpg), 8th in FT% (.857), and 17th in FG% (.496) … in the NCAA Div. II national stats, McGill is 18th in assists and 31st in A-T ratio.
TEAM NOTES: With non-conference play near completion, UAA holds top-10 national ranks in 3FGs per game (4th, 11.6), fewest turnovers per game (6th, 9.0), assist-TO ratio (7th, 1.84) and FT% (8th, .792), while the Seawolves’ grand total of 116 three-pointers leads the nation … UAA has won 29 of its last 32 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex, with the only losses coming to 2012 NCAA champ Western Washington (twice) and then-No. 13 Seattle Pacific … UAA has won 28 of its last 30 games when scoring 80 points or more; the 88-81 loss to Cal St. Dominguez Hills snapped a streak of 24 straight wins when hitting that mark, covered the entire 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons … UAA is chasing its ninth straight winning season and the 31st in the program’s 37 years … the Seawolves have also finished with a plus-.500 league record 25 times in 31 years of conference membership.
PLAYER NOTES: Jr. G Travis Thompson ranks No. 2 in the GNAC and 45th nationally with 21.0 points per game, along with top-50 national marks in 3FGs per game (15th, 3.7), and FT% (29th, .922) … at 47 of 51 from the stripe, Thompson’s FT% also leads the GNAC … coming off a redshirt season, the local Dimond HS product has tallied double figures in all 10 games thus far, bettering his career-high by eight with a 32-point effort against CSU Dominguez Hills … with 30 points against Regis and 26 in the rematch with Holy Names, Thompson topped the 25-point mark three times in an 8-day span, Nov. 10-17 … Thompson was named Most Outstanding Player of the Nov. 15-16 AT&T Jamboree and made the all-tourney team at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout … a 2nd-Team All-GNAC pick in 2011-12 and a preseason all-league selection this year, Thompson currently ranks among UAA’s career top 20 in 3FG% (5th, .451), FT% (4th, .865) and 3FGs made (13th, 144), along with No. 29 on the all-time scoring list (767); he needs only three more treys to reach the top 10 and 14 more for the top five in 3FGs … Sr. G Kyle Fossman was a First Team All-GNAC pick and joined Thompson as a preseason All-GNAC designee … the Haines product has scored double figures in nine of 10 games and over 20 over three occasions ... UAA’s 2012-13 team MVP ranks 6th in the early GNAC scoring race with 16.9 ppg, boosted by a career-high-tying 28 points in the Shootout loss to Div. I Indiana State … since the start of the season, Fossman has risen from 12th to 4th place on UAA’s career 3FGs list (181), while his other career ranks include 3rd in 3FG% (.458), 6th in FT% (.854) and 25th in points (895); he needs 14 more treys to catch Kemmy Burgess (2003-04, 05-06) for No. 3 in 3FGs … another preseason all-league pick and returning All-GNAC 2nd Team selection, Jr. G/F Teancum Stafford sits 12th in the early GNAC scoring race with 14.3 ppg, boosted by a career-high 29 points in the 83-72 victory over No. 5 Minnesota State … Stafford is also tied for 3rd in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and is 13th in FG% (.532) in the GNAC after matching his career-high with 12 boards against UAF … since transferring from Snow (Utah) College last year, the Auburn, Wash., native has scored double figures in 29 of 34 appearances, seeing his streak of 20 straight snapped with 8 points against UAF on Dec. 7 … Stafford earned his second career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the Jamboree win over Holy Names … Sr. G/F Colton Lauwers has been UAA’s lunch-pail man, spelling McGill at the point and banging for rebounds at the power forward position … after a cold start, Lauwers has connected on 10 of his last 20 three-pointers, while emerging as the team’s seond-leading rebounder (4.1 rpg) … a former Dimond HS teammate of Thompson’s, Lauwers ranks 6th in the GNAC in assist-turnover ratio with 22 assists and just eight giveaways in 235 minutes.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: After being ranked No. 19, UAA fell one spot out of the NABC’s NCAA Div. II Top 25 poll following its three D-I losses, checking in at ’No. 26’ with 26 tallies … joining Great Northwest Athletic Conference foes No. 5 Western Washington and No. 14 Seattle Pacific as the only other West Region club is No. 8 Dixie State … here is an abbreviated look at the latest poll (for complete rankings, visit nabc.org):
NABC Division II Top 25 — Dec. 10, 2013
(UAA & opponents in bold; West Region teams in italics)
Rk Team (1st pl. votes) Rec. Pts
1 West Liberty, W.Va. (13) 7-0 394
2 Bellarmine, Ky. (2) 4-0 378
3 Drury, Mo. 7-0 363
4 Florida Southern (1) 9-0 345
5 Western Washington 6-0 340
6 Metro State, Colo. 4-1 325
7 Indiana, Pa. 7-0 301
8 Dixie State, Utah 6-0 289
9 Southern Indiana 5-0 264
10 Montevallo (Ala.) 7-0 235
14 Seattle Pacific 9-2 165
17 Minnesota State 8-2 125
Other West Region teams receiving 5 or more votes: 26) ALASKA ANCHORAGE 26; 29) Chico State 20; 31) Cal State San Bernardino 19; 43) Cal Baptist 6; 45) Cal State-LA.
UAA PEGGED FOR SECOND: UAA was picked to finish runner-up by the league’s 10 head coaches in the 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason poll, released Oct. 15. Here’s a look at the poll, with actual finish denoted on the right:
2013-14 GNAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rk Team 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
Nate Sagan
Sports Information Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK 9508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com
