2014 GCI Great Alaska Shootout pairings, TV games announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (please use new tournament logo, attached)

2014 GCI Great Alaska Shootout pairings, TV games announced

ANCHORAGE (July 10) – The University of Alaska Anchorage has unveiled the pairings for the 2014 GCI Great Alaska Shootout, with seven games slated for national television on CBS Sports Network.

This year’s Shootout is scheduled for Nov. 25-29 at the Alaska Airlines Center, starting with women’s first-round action on Tuesday night and concluding with the men’s championship on Saturday. Host UAA will open against Yale on the women’s side and Pacific on the men’s side to begin their respective tournaments.

Long Beach State and Boise State kick off the women’s action at 6 p.m. Tuesday, followed by Yale against UAA. Women’s consolation and championship games are slated for 2:30 and 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The 37th annual men’s Shootout begins with all four first-round games on CBS Sports Network on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Host UAA will take on Pacific in the opener at 7:30 p.m. AST/11:30 p.m.  EST Wednesday, followed by Missouri State vs. Colorado State at 10 p.m. AST/2 a.m. EST. Thanksgiving matchups will be Rice against Mercer – fresh off a 2014 NCAA Tournament upset of Duke – at 5:30 p.m. AST/9:30 p.m. EST, followed by Washington State vs. UC Santa Barbara at 8 p.m. AST/Midnight EST.

CBS Sports Network will also air both Friday semifinals as well as Saturday’s championship game at 7:30 p.m. AST/11:30 p.m. EST.

The GCI Great Alaska Shootout is the longest-running regular-season college basketball tournament in the nation, taking place every Thanksgiving in Anchorage since 1978. This will be the inaugural tournament held at UAA’s brand-new, 5,000-seat Alaska Airlines Center.

Here is a quick look at the 2014 fields:

WOMEN
Alaska Anchorage
Nickname: Seawolves

Location: Anchorage, Alaska

Website: GoSeawolves.com

Conference: Great Northwest Athletic (GNAC)

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 19-9/12-6 (t-3rd)

2014 Postseason: NCAA 1st Round

Head Coach: Ryan McCarthy, 3rd season

Previous Shootout Appearances (Titles): All (1990, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)

 

Boise State

Nickname: Broncos

Location: Boise, Idaho

Website: BroncoSports.com

Conference: Mountain West

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 18-14/12-6 (t-3rd)

2014 Postseason: WBI Quarterfinals

Head Coach: Gordy Presnell, 10th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: 1990

 

Long Beach State

Nickname: 49ers

Location: Long Beach, Calif.

Website: LongBeachState.com

Conference: Big West

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 17-15/8-8 (6th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Jody Wynn, 6th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: None

 

Yale

Nickname: Bulldogs

Location: New Haven, Conn.

Website: YaleBulldogs.com

Conference: Ivy League

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 13-15/7-7 (4th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Chris Gobrecht, 10th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: 1985

MEN
Alaska Anchorage
Nickname: Seawolves
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Website: GoSeawolves.com

Conference: Great Northwest Athletic (GNAC)

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 17-13/10-8 (t-4th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Rusty Osborne, 11th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: All (35-73)

 

Colorado State

Nickname: Rams

Location: Fort Collins, Colo.

Website: CSURams.com

Conference: Mountain West

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 16-16/7-11 (t-8th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Larry Eustachy, 3rd season

Previous Shootout Appearances: None

 

Mercer

Nickname: Bears

Location: Macon, Ga.

Website: MercerBears.com

Conference: Atlantic Sun

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 27-9/14-4 (t-1st)

2014 Postseason: NCAA 3rd Round

Head Coach: Bob Hoffman, 7th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: None

 

Missouri State

Nickname: Bears

Location: Springfield, Mo.

Website: MissouriStateBears.com

Conference: Missouri Valley

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 20-13/9-9 (t-4th)

2014 Postseason: CIT 1st Rd.

Head Coach: Paul Lusk, 4th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: None

 

Pacific

Nickname: Tigers

Location: Stockton, Calif.

Website: PacificTigers.com

Conference: West Coast

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 18-16/6-12 (t-8th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Ron Verlin, 2nd season

Previous Shootout Appearances: 1979, 2003, 2006

 

Rice

Nickname: Owls

Location: Houston, Texas

Website: RiceOwls.com

Conference: Conference-USA

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 7-23/2-14 (16th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Mike Rhoades, 1st season

Previous Shootout Appearances: None

 

UC Santa Barbara

Nickname: Gauchos

Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.

Website: UCSBGauchos.com

Conference: Big West

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 21-9/12-4 (2nd)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Bob Williams, 17th season

Previous Shootout Appearances: None

 

Washington State

Nickname: Cougars

Location: Pullman, Wash.

Website: WSUCougars.com

Conference: Pacific-12

2013-14 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 10-21/3-15 (11th)

2014 Postseason: None

Head Coach: Ernie Kent, 1st season

Previous Shootout Appearances: 1981, 2009 (champions)


2014 GCI GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
All times Alaska Standard (4 hours behind EST)

Women’s Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 25 – First Round
6 p.m. – Long Beach State vs Boise State
8 p.m. – Yale vs Alaska Anchorage
Wednesday, Nov. 26
2:30 p.m. – LBSU/BSU loser vs Yale/UAA loser (3rd place)
5 p.m. – LBSU/BSU winner vs Yale/UAA winner (Championship)

Men’s Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 26 – First Round
7:30 p.m. (Game 1) – Pacific vs Alaska Anchorage (CBSSN)
10 p.m. (Game 2) – Missouri State vs Colorado State (CBSSN)
Thursday, Nov. 27 – First Round
5:30 p.m. (Game 3) – Rice vs Mercer (CBSSN)
8 p.m. (Game 4) – Washington State vs UC Santa Barbara (CBSSN)
Friday, Nov. 28 – Consolation Semifinals & Semifinals
Noon (Game 5) – Pacific/UAA loser vs Mo. St./CSU loser
2 p.m. (Game 6) – Rice/Mercer loser vs WSU/UCSB loser
5:30 p.m. (Game 7) – Pacific/UAA winner vs Mo. St./CSU winner (CBSSN*)
8 p.m. (Game 8) – Rice/Mercer winner vs WSU/UCSB winner (CBSSN*)
Saturday, Nov. 29
Noon (Game 9) – Game 5 loser vs Game 6 loser (7th/8th place)
2 p.m. (Game 10) – Game 5 winner vs Game 6 winner (4th/6th place)
5 p.m. (Game 11) – Game 7 loser vs Game 8 loser (3rd/5th place)
7:30 p.m. (Game 12) – Game 7 winner vs Game 8 winner (Championship – CBSSN)

*will air tape-delayed at 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. AST

 

--GoSeawolves.com/shootout--

 

Nate Sagan
Media Relations Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK  99508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com

 

Seawolves add Arizona JC transfer Kevin Bowman

ANCHORAGE (July 8) – Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball coach Rusty Osborne has added another key transfer to his deep and talented backcourt with the announcement Tuesday that Phoenix native Kevin Bowman has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Seawolves.

A 6-2, 180-pound guard, Bowman spent his first two collegiate seasons at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College, where he ranked 11th in the Arizona Community Colleges Athletic Conference with 17.2 points per game in 2013-14. Bowman also dished 2.3 assists per game while shooting 44 percent from the field, 42 from three-point range and 81 percent at the free-throw stripe. In January, he set the school single-game record with 47 points in a double-overtime win against Glendale, plus a 33-point effort in a victory over Eastern Arizona. As a freshman, he put up 9.0 points per game and earned second-team all-region honors.

“Kevin is another important addition to our program,” said Osborne, who owns a 192-106 record in his 10 seasons as the Seawolves’ head coach. “His ability to play both the point guard and wing position will be in valuable. We now have talented, experienced depth at all three backcourt positions. This should allow us to have a high level of competition in practice and also gives us the ability to play multiple combinations and overcome any injuries we may encounter during the season.”

At Pinnacle High School his hometown of Phoenix, Bowman was a three-year letterwinner, helping his team to consecutive State Tournament Final 4 appearances as a junior and senior. As a senior in 2013-14, he averaged 11.2 ppg and shot 47 percent from the field – along with a school-record 87 percent from the free-throw line – for a PHS squad that finished 30-4 overall and 16-2 in league play. As a junior he put up 14.3 ppg on 43 percent shooting.

“As you can see from his numbers, Kevin can flat out shoot the basketball and is capable of exploding for huge games,” Osborne added. “However, he also is a very accomplished point guard, having earned all-region honors at that position. He is also a tremendous student, and we feel his personality and skill set will mesh perfectly with the returners and newcomers.”

Bowman becomes the seventh newcomer to join UAA’s 2014 recruiting class, along with fellow transfers Derrick Fain (G, 6-4/175, Dallas, Texas/Forney HS/The Master’s Coll.), Dom Hunter (G, 6-0/180, Tacoma, Wash./Decatur HS/Eastern Arizona Coll.) and Travis Parrish (G/F, 6-3/220, West Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS/Utah State [football]), and incoming freshmen Sjur Berg (F, 6-7/225, Nesoddtangen, Norway), Damien Fulp (G, 6-1/160, Palmer/Colony HS) and Brian Pearson (F, 6-9/225, Elko, Nev.).

--GoSeawolves--

Nate Sagan
Media Relations Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK  99508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com