THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF MEN'S BASKETBALL ...
Thursday, Jan. 2 — 7 pm — Wells Fargo Sports Complex — Anchorage, AK
#15 Western Washington (8-2, 2-0 GNAC)
at #23 Alaska Anchorage (8-4, 1-0 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Jan. 4 — 7 pm — Wells Fargo Sports Complex — Anchorage, AK
Simon Fraser (7-3, 0-2 GNAC [1/2 @UAF]) at #23 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 VIDEO: Free via Stretch Internet (find link at GoSeawolves.com)
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com & Stretch Internet
SOCIAL MEDIA: FB — Alaska.Anchorage.Seawolves ● Instagram — AlaskaAnchorage
Twitter — @UAASeawolves, @UAAMBB
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2013-14 stats)
G—Brian McGill, 6-2/185, So. (17.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 7.3 apg, .510 FG, .550 3FG, .848 FT)
G—Travis Thompson, 6-1/185, Jr. (22.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, .459 3FG, .924 FT)
G—Kyle Fossman, 6-0/180, Sr. (17.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, .452 FG, .871 FT)
F—Teancum Stafford, 6-5/205, Jr. (13.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .495 FG, .340 3FG)
C—Brad Mears, 6-9/230, Jr. (5.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .587 FG, 14.6 mpg)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Two-time defending GNAC and West Region champion Western Washington is coming off its first back-to-back losses in three seasons, falling to Cal State San Bernardino (99-91) and No. 11 Tarleton State (86-69) in Las Vegas, Dec. 21-22 … the Vikings are led by 6-3 Sr. G Richard Woodworth (17.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.8 spg, .513 FG, .827 FT) and 6-9 Sr. C Austin Bragg (15.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.6 bpg, .591 FG) … Simon Fraser will be playing its first true road games since splitting its season openers at Fresno Pacific (W) and Cal State Stanislaus (L) to start the year, Nov. 8-9 … the Clan, who dropped their GNAC home openers to Saint Martin's (78-62) and Western Oregon (87-83) on Dec. 5 & 7, are led by five double-figure scorers, including Justin Cole (12.7 ppg, 1.9 spg, .438 3FG) and David Gebru (12.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg, .788 FT).
THE SERIES vs WWU: WWU leads 14-11 (UAA leads 7-6 in Anch.)
Last Meeting: WWU 63-57 (2/23/13 at UAA) / Streak: WWU 6 / Notes: WWU has won five games by single digits during its current 6-game streak … UAA's last win came at home, 68-53, Feb. 11, 2010 … the Seawolves had won 7 of 9 prior to WWU's current streak … WWU leads 15-9 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) … first and only non-GNAC meeting came when both teams were Pac West foes, with UAA winning 89-77 at home, Jan. 20, 2000.
THE SERIES vs SFU: UAA leads 9-0 (5-0 in Anchorage)
Last Meeting: UAA 78-68 (2/21/13 at UAA) / Streak: UAA 9 / Notes: UAA has won all six meetings since SFU joined the GNAC in 2010-11, posting five double-digit victories … teams met twice in UAA's first year of Div. II membership in 1977-78, with UAA winning twice at home … teams also met when SFU was a provisional NCAA member in 1999-00 and both teams were in the Pac West Conference.
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA WWU SFU
UAA Home/Opp. Road 6-3 0-0 1-1
Points per Game 91.1 92.0 82.1
Points Allowed per Game 73.0 78.3 75.3
Rebounding Differential +2.9 +7.0 +0.6
Assists per Game 19.2 16.0 17.6
Turnovers per Game 8.8 13.8 12.9
Steals per Game 5.7 8.0 9.4
Blocks per Game 1.8 6.9 2.7
FG% .475 .490 .481
3-pt FG% .413 .371 .397
FT% .811 .651 .725
RECORDS FALL AGAINST PIONEERS: The Seawolves completed the non-conference portion of their regular season with 149-70 and 111-58 home blowouts of Northland (Wis.) International, Dec. 16-17 … in the first game, Jr. G Travis Thompson scored 35 points and So. PG Brian McGill dished 20 assists as UAA broke six school and four GNAC men's basketball records … the Seawolves also got 24 points from McGill and a career-high 22 points from Sr. G/F Colton Lauwers as they set team marks for points, 3FGs made (27), 3FGs attempted (50), assists (41), and most points in a second half (72) … just two days after Western Washington established a new GNAC standard with 140 points against Multnomah, the Seawolves broke that record, along with those for assists and three-pointers … McGill's 20 assists topped the GNAC record by one and bettered former Seawolf All-American Luke Cooper's school record of 18 … UAA's 76 first-half points broke the Wells Fargo Sports Complex record by one – one of three additional home records set, along with margin of victory (79, tie) and halftime margin (47) … in the rematch, Sr. G Kyle Fossman bagged 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Thompson scored a game-high 29 points, and Lauwers approached a triple-double with 9 points, 9 rebounds and career-high 7 steals.
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.
TEAM NOTES: With non-conference play complete, UAA leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio at 2.17, along with top-25 ranks in FT% (2nd, .811), 3FGs per game (3rd, 13.6), fewest turnovers (4th, 8.8 tpg), assists (13th, 19.2 apg), scoring margin (14th, +18.1), scoring offense (17th, 91.1 ppg) and turnover margin (23rd, +4.4) … in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in scoring margin, FT%, 3FGs per game, assists, asst-TO ratio and defensive rebounding pct. (.724), and are No. 2 in scoring, 3FG% and defensive rebounds per game (25.8) … UAA has won 31 of its last 34 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex, with the only losses coming to Western Washington (twice) and Seattle Pacific … UAA has won 30 of its last 32 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 16th nationally with 22.8 points per game, along with top-20 national marks in 3FGs per game (4th, 4.25), and FT% (12th, .924) … Thompson leads the GNAC in both FT% and 3FGs per game, along with ranks of 3rd in minutes played (34.8 mpg), 7th in steals (1.5 spg) and 3FG% (.459), 13th in assist-turnover ratio (1.9) and 15th in assists (2.7 apg) … coming off a redshirt season, the local Dimond HS product has tallied double figures in all 12 games thus far, including three times reaching the 30-point plateau … 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% (2nd, .462), FT% (4th, .871) and 3FGs made (t-5th, 158), along with No. 28 on the all-time scoring list (831) … 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 11 of 12 games, scoring 20-plus on four occasions ... UAA's 2012-13 team MVP ranks 7th in the early GNAC scoring race with 17.2 ppg, boosted by a career-high-tying 28 points in the Shootout loss to Div. I Indiana State … in the NCAA national stats, the team's only 4th-year senior is 4th in 3FGs per game (3.92) and 40th in assist-TO ratio (3.08) … since the start of the season, Fossman has risen from 12th to 4th place on UAA's career 3FGs list (191), while his other career ranks include 5th in 3FG% (.456), 5th in FT% (.855) and 22nd in points (932); he needs four 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 17th in the early GNAC scoring race with 13.2 ppg, boosted by a career-high 29 points in the 83-72 victory over No. 5 Minnesota State … Stafford is also 5th in rebounding (8.1 rpg), 7th in blocks (1.0 bpg), 10th in 3FGs per game (1.8) and 19th in FG% (.495) … since transferring from Snow (Utah) College last year, the Auburn, Wash., native has scored double figures in 30 of 36 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 AT&T Jamboree win over Holy Names … So. PG Brian McGill he made a enormous impact in his first year of eligibility since transferring from Western Oregon … after setting the GNAC and UAA single-game record with 20 assists on Dec. 16, McGill now leads the league with 7.3 apg, along with other GNAC ranks of 4th in scoring (17.8 ppg), 3rd in asst-TO ratio (3.5), 5th in minutes (34.1 mpg), 6th in FT% (.848), 14th in FG% (.510) … in the NCAA Div. II national stats, McGill is 6th in assists and 24th in A-T ratio… the Clackamas, Ore., native was named the GNAC Red Lion Player of the Week following his 29-point, 10-assist performance in the league-opening victory over UAF, becoming just the fifth player in 14 years to tally at least 25 points and 10 assists in a GNAC game … 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 … a former Dimond HS teammate of Thompson's, Lauwers ranks 2nd in the GNAC in assist-turnover ratio with 32 assists and just nine giveaways in 282 minutes … he is 15th in assists (2.7 apg), 15th in steals (1.2 spg) and 20th in rebounding (4.8 rpg) … Jr. G Boomer Blossom (6 points, career-high 6 rebounds) scored his first points of the season and Fr. PG DeVante Baisa (6 points, 2 assists) scored the first points of his UAA career in the first victory over Northland International … Fr. F Jacob Craft also netted the first two field goals of his collegiate career as well.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: UAA returned to the national ranking for the third week this year, reappearing at No. 23 in the Dec. 31 NCAA Div. II Top 25 poll … UAA received 41 votes and is among six West Region teams in the rankings, along with Thursday's opponent, No. 15 Western Washington … here is an abbreviated look at the latest poll (for complete rankings, visit nabc.org):
NABC Division II Top 25 — Dec. 31, 2013
(UAA & opponents in bold; West Region teams in italics)
Rk Team (1st pl. votes) Rec. Pts Prev.
1 West Liberty, W.Va. (14) 8-0 396 1
2 Bellarmine, Ky. (2) 8-0 385 2
3 Drury, Mo. 9-0 359 3
4 Florida Southern 12-0 354 4
5 Metro State, Colo. 8-1 328 6
6 Indiana, Pa. 10-0 318 7
7 Dixie State, Utah 9-0 303 8
8 Southern Indiana 8-0 281 9
9 Tarleton State, Tex. 10-0 280 11
10 East Stroudsburg, Pa. 11-0 233 12
11 Seattle Pacific 11-2 210 14
14 Minnesota State 11-2 170 16
15 Western Washington 8-2 146 5
19 Cal State San Bernardino 7-1 91 NR
21 Chico State, Calif. 7-1 43 NR
23 Alaska Anchorage 8-4 41 NR
Other West Region teams receiving 5 or more votes: 35) Cal Baptist 17; 38) Cal State-LA 9.
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
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