THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF BASKETBALL...
Thursday, Feb. 26 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
#20 Western Oregon (22-4, 14-2 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (14-12, 10-6 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Feb. 28 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Saint Martin’s (6-20, 3-13 GNAC [2/26 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
TV: Catch both games tape-delayed statewide on GCI Cable (Ch. 1 in Anchorage) ... Thursday’s game will be shown at 10:30 p.m. that night and Saturday’s game will air at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 1.
RADIO: Live on FM-93.7 KAFC
FREE LIVE VIDEO & STATS: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa/
SOCIAL MEDIA: Get periodic updates for Seawolf games by following the @UAAMBB Twitter feed or like UAA’s main Facebook (Alaska Anchorage Seawolves) or Instagram (AlaskaAnchorage) pages.
‘GREEN-OUT’ PLANNED: UAA fans are encouraged to wear green to this week’s games, with the first 1,000 attendees each day receiving free t-shirts (while supplies last Saturday) ... in addition the ‘Green Out,’ the #SeawolfMania celebration will feature giveaways from the Varsity Sports Grill, Caffe D’Arte, Papa Johns, Subway, Alaska Rock Gym and Medical Park Family Care.
GNAC SEEDING AT STAKE: The final week of the regular season brings a showdown against leauge champion Western Oregon on Thursday night before UAA’s four seniors are honored in conjunction with the home finale against Saint Martin’s on Saturday afternoon ... the Seawolves have been eliminated from contention for second place and the first-round bye in the GNAC Tournament, finding themselves on the wrong side of tiebreakers against Seattle Pacific and Central Washington ... UAA could finish anywhere between No. 3 and No. 6, depending on several scenarios.
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2014-15 stats)
G—Brian McGill, 6-2, Jr. (14.3 ppg, 5.1 apg, .504 FG, .425 3FG, .789 FT)
G—Travis Thompson, 6-1, Sr. (17.3 ppg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg, .441 3FG, .820 FT)
G—Derrick Fain, 6-4, Sr. (9.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, .391 3FG, .917 FT)
F—Travis Parrish, 6-3, So. (3.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, .557 FG)
C—Brad Mears, 6-10, Sr. (2.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, .449 FG)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Despite seeing its 11-game win streak halted with a 73-50 home loss to Western Washington on Thursday, Western Oregon clinched its first GNAC title outright with a 93-91 home win over Simon Fraser on Saturday ... the Wolves who were missing 6-8 Jr. F Andy Avgi (18.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, .611 FG, .800 FT) for those contests, also feature 6-2 Jr. G Julian Nichols (12.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.0 rpg, 2.3 spg, .373 3FG, .848 FT) and 6-6 Jr. G Jordan Wiley (10.6 ppg, .452 3FG, .804 FT) ... Saint Martin’s heads to Fairbanks on Thursday with five straight losses and 12 in its last 13 outings ... SMU’s lone D-II victories have been a sweep of MSU Billings and a home win over UAF ... the Saints are led by 6-1 Fr. G Trey Ingram (10.5 ppg, 3.7 apg, .430 3FG) and 6-2 Sr. G Riley Carel (9.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 spg, .720 FT).
THE SERIES vs WOU: UAA leads 18-10
At UAA: UAA leads 10-3
Last Meeting: WOU 87-66 (12/6/14 at WOU)
Streak: WOU 2
Notes: WOU has never wonthree straight ... WOU is aiming for just its second regular-season sweep of UAA since the GNAC formed in 2001-02, having taken both games in the 2004-05 campaign ... UAA has won four straight in Anchorage, including 96-77 last year ... UAA leads 19-8 in GNAC regular-season meetings … first and only non-GNAC meeting came when both teams were Pac West foes, with WOU winning 91-81, Jan. 28, 1999.
THE SERIES vs SMU: UAA leads 27-7
At UAA: UAA leads 18-1
Last Meeting: UAA 75-68, OT (12/4/14 at SMU)
Streak: UAA 3
Notes: UAA has won six of the last seven meetings, including 88-76 last year in Anchorage ... UAA has won 10 straight at home, with SMU’s only win coming 79-76 on Jan. 15, 2005 … UAA leads 20-7 in GNAC regular-season meetings … teams met twice as members of the Pac West (in 1999 and 2001) and four times between 1977-80.
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA WOU SMU
UAA Home/Opp. Road 9-6 9-2 2-7
Points per Game 78.5 80.0 69.0
Points Allowed/Game 73.3 68.7 76.8
Rebounding Diff. +3.0 +4.1 -2.9
Assists per Game 17.8 15.3 12.8
Turnovers per Game 12.7 11.8 12.5
Steals per Game 5.9 9.5 4.8
Blocks per Game 2.3 3.3 2.7
FG% .476 .478 .436
3-pt FG% .382 .375 .385
FT% .763 .762 .643
WILDCATS, CRUSADERS PREVAIL: The Seawolves suffered their first 0-2 conference weekend of the season with an 80-67 loss at Central Washington on Feb. 19, followed by a 100-93 overtime setback at Northwest Nazarene on Feb 21 ... in the first game, Jr. G Dom Hunter collected 21 points (7-10 3FG) and Sr. G Derrick Fain had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists but the Wildcats used a 17-2 run midway through the 2nd half to pull away for the season sweep ... Sr. G Travis Thompson added 11 points and 3 assists, while So. F Travis Parrish had 6 points (3-5 FG) and career-bests of 9 rebounds and 3 steals ... on Saturday, Thompson equaled his season-high with 33 points (10-15 FG, 7-10 3FG, 6-6 FT) and Fain poured in a career-high 32 points (10-17 FG, 7-10 3FG, 5-5 FT) but Nothwest Nazarene used a late rally to tie in regulation and secure a series split with a 19-7 run in the extra session ... Jr. PG Brian McGill had 8 points and 6 assists, and Parrish had 6 rebounds and 3 assists as the Seawolves finished their GNAC road slate with a 5-4 record.
TEAM NOTES: UAA needs one more victory to clinch the program’s 10th straight winning season and the 32nd in 38 years … with their win over MSUB on Feb. 12, the Seawolves earned their fifth consecutive plus-.500 league record and the for 27 of 33 years of conference membership (all leagues) ... UAA has qualified for the GNAC Tournament each year since the event was instituted in 2011 ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA holds top-20 ranks in assists per game (11th, 17.8), FT% (12th, .764) and assist/turnover ratio (17th, 1.41), along with 26th in 3FGs per game (9.3) ... in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in A/T ratio, assists per game and FT%, and are 2nd in 3FG% (.382) and 3FGs per game ... for the second season in a row the Seawolves set a new record for three-pointers made in a road game, with their 20 at Simon Fraser topping the 19 at Western Oregon (1/23/14) and Central Washington (2/13/14) ... the 20 treys also tied for the 3rd-most in a game in program history ... UAA’s four times reaching the century mark this year are the most under 11th-year head coach Rusty Osborne and the most since the 2000-01 squad did it seven times ... UAA held its opponents to a tournament-low .196 3FG% in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout, while tying for the second-most steals (15) ... the Seawolves held Northwest Indian to 12 rebounds on Nov. 22, breaking the previous record of 15 allowed (vs. NW Nazarene, 1/22/04).
THE THOMPSON TICKER: Sr. G Travis Thompson notched his 10th 20-plus performance this year when he went for 33 points in UAA’s loss at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday ... it was Thompson’s eighth career 30-plus outing, third-most in Seawolf history behind Jesse Jackson (16, 1985-87) and Jason Kaiser (13, 1993-95) ... Thompson is now within striking distance of No. 2 on UAA’s career scoring list with 1,629 points, needing 37 more to catch Hansi Gnad (1,666 pts,1983-87) ... the Seawolves’ career record-holder in 3FGs (295) ranks in the top 10 in 13 different stats categories at UAA, including scoring, FTs made (3rd, 340), FT% (5th, .854), 3FG% (7th, .442), victories (t-3rd, 78), steals (t-7th, 120), assists (5th, 327), games played (4th, 119) and games started (t-8th, 81) ... with 7-of-10 long-range shooting at NNU, Thompson also took over the GNAC record for three-pointers made, passing Jake Linton of St. Martin’s (292 3FGs, 2005-09); he holds other GNAC career ranks of 14th in scoring (needs 20 pts to move into 13th), 9th in FT%, 10th in 3FG%, 11th in 3FGs per game (2.45) and t-8th in games played ... in this year’s GNAC stats, he is 4th in scoring (17.3 ppg), 2nd in 3FGs per game (3.2, 19th nationally), 3rd in minutes per game (32.6), 6th in A/T ratio (2.6, 27th nationally), 10th in steals per game (1.4), 8th in 3FG% (.446, 25th nationally), 8th in FT% (.820) and 12th in assists per game (3.3), despite being the focus of opposing defenses ... the former Dimond High School star earned GCI Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team honors for the second straight season after leading the 8-team, all-Div. I GCI Great Alaska Shootout in scoring with 19.7 ppg in November ... Thompson’s 28 points in the finale vs. Rice was the second-most in this year’s tourney and pushed him into No. 4 on the Shootout’s all-time scoring list with 157 points, trailing only Peter Bullock (213), Ed Kirk (169) and Jason Kaiser (160) ... his 13 three-pointers were also tied for 6th-most in tourney history and set a new mark for a Seawolf ... Thompson was a unanimous selection for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches ... a First Team All-GNAC pick last year and a Second Teamer in 2011-12, he was also picked a Div. II Bulletin ‘Super 16’ Preseason All-American this fall ... most recently, Thompson added Capital One Academic All-District 8 honors to his resume, earning a spot on the 5-player squad with a 3.47 overall GPA in civil engineering.
McGILL THE THRILL: Jr. PG Brian McGill topped the 25-point mark for the seventh time in his career when he went for 29 in UAA’s win at Simon Fraser, including a 25-point explosion in the 1st half ... the Preseason All-GNAC selection holds down top-15 ranks in six different categories, including 3rd in assists (5.1 apg, 37th nationally), 11th in scoring (14.3 ppg), 7th in minutes per game (30.9) and 14th in FT% (.789) … after just 55 games, McGill is already 8th on UAA’s career list with 305 assists, while his 5.55 assists per game rank No. 3 ... the Clackamas, Ore., native tied for third in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout with 5.3 assists per game, along with a tie for fifth in rebounds at 6.3 rpg ... McGill earned GNAC Player of the Week for his performance Jan. 1 & 3 against Western Washington and SFU, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Ron Logsdon Classic in November ... he garnered All-GNAC Second Team honors in 2013-14, and he was a unanimous Preseson All-GNAC pick this year.
MORE PLAYER NOTES: Sr. G Derrick Fain has taken his game to another level in the last month, starting with GNAC Player of the Week honors for his performance at Western Washington and Simon Fraser ... last week the Dallas native posted his sixth and seventh straight double-figure scoring efforts with 12 points at Central Washington and a career-high 32 at NW Nazarene ... after averaging 6.0 ppg through the first 19 contests, Fain has totaled 128 points on 41-of-82 shooting (23-46 3FG) over the past seven, including a 23-point outburst at Simon Fraser ... he also added a career-high 10 rebounds at SFU for his first double-double ... a one-year transfer from The Master’s College, Fain now ranks 15th in the GNAC with 1.7 3FGs per game and 17th in 3FG% at .391 ... Jr. G Dom Hunter has made a major impact since missing 10 games from Nov. 22-Jan. 3 with a toe injury, with his 14.3 points per game in GNAC contests ranking 11th in the league ... the Eastern Arizona transfer has scored double figures in eight of his last nine games, topping the 20-point mark four times ... the Federal Way, Wash., native is shooting .859 from the FT line, with the third-most made (61) and attempted (71) on the team, despite playing only 14 of 26 games ... in the overall GNAC stats, Hunter is 15th in scoring (13.4 ppg), 5th in FT% and 9th in 3FGs per game (2.0) ... Fr. F Sjur Berg has shown the rebounding prowess that earned him a reputation as one of Europe’s top juniors, grabbing 13 rebounds against Western Washington (Jan. 3) and 9 at MSU Billings (Jan. 17) ... the Norwegian’s 5.2 rebounds per game are second-best on the team and rank 16th in the GNAC, while his .603 FG% is tied for 2nd on the team and would be 6th in the GNAC with enough attempts ... Jr. F Christian Leckband has provided a big lift off the bench in league play, posting 7.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg in GNAC counters ... on Jan. 3, the Nome product tied his then-career-high with 16 points in the win over Western Washington, and he reached double figures for the fourth time this year with a career-high 19 points against SPU on Feb. 14 ... So. F Travis Parrish has quietly been one of UAA’s most efficient players in his first season since switching from football (Utah State) to the hardcourt ... Parrish is one of four Seawolves shooting .550 or better, connecting at a .585 clip (24 of 41) since entering the starting lineup on Dec. 13 ... the Utah native had career-highs of 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 FT) at Western Washington and 4 assists at Simon Fraser, and Thursday he grabbed a career-high 9 rebounds at Central Washington ... Parrish also leads the Seawolves with 41 total offensive rebounds ... redshirt Fr. C Kalidou Diouf ranks in the top 10 on seven UAA freshman lists, including No. 1 on FG% (.633), No. 3 in scoring average (10.8 ppg) and No. 4 in rebounding average (5.5 rpg) ... the 6-9, 270-pound German has racked up several impressive shooting performances, including 7 of 7 at Western Oregon, 13 of 14 against Northwest Indian, 6 of 9 against defending West Region champion Chico State, and 9 of 11 against Simon Fraser ... he also pulled down a UAA season-high 15 rebounds against SFU, securing his second career double-double and the most boards for a Seawolf since former All-American Taylor Rohde had 15 at Central Washington on Dec. 30, 2010 ... Diouf holds GNAC ranks of 13th in rebounding, 2nd in FG% and 8th in blocks (0.9 bpg).
THE OSBORNE FILE: Eleventh-year head coach Rusty Osborne (206-118) has led the Seawolves to nine straight winning seasons, five NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the 2008 NCAA D-II Semifinals in his tenure at the helm … with UAA’s victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 10, he became the first UAA basketball coach to reach 200 career victories … Osborne captured his first career GNAC and NABC West District coach-of-the-year awards in 2008 after becoming the second coach to lead UAA to three consecutive NCAA berths (2006-08), and in 2011-12 his Seawolves posted a 24-10 record to equal the 2nd-most victories in program history; Osborne’s 2007-08 club holds that record with a 29-6 mark … before taking over the head job in 2004-05, the Texas native previously served 13 seasons (1991-04) as a UAA assistant, including 11 years as the top assistant … the Seawolves have won over 60 percent of their games with Osborne on the staff, claiming four conference titles and eight trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Osborne is assisted by Cameron Turner (4th season) and graduate assistant Tim Mollerstrom (3rd season).
SEAWOLVES TABBED 2ND: The Seawolves were picked to finish second in the 2014 Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll, released Oct. 14. Here is a look at the poll:
2014-15 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll
Rk Team (1st-place votes) 2013-14 Records Pts
1. Western Washington (7) 20-8 (13-5, 2nd) 78
2. Alaska Anchorage (1) 17-13 (10-8, 4th-T) 69
3. Seattle Pacific (2) 26-6 (15-3, 1st) 68
4. Western Oregon 18-12 (10-8, 4th-T) 60
5. Montana State Billings 12-15 (8-10, 6th-T) 41
6. Central Washington 12-14 (8-10, 6th-T) 39
7. Alaska Fairbanks 18-10 (12-6, 3rd) 38
8. Northwest Nazarene 7-19 (5-13, 9th) 21
9. Simon Fraser 10-16 (3-15, 10th) 18
Saint Martin’s 9-17 (6-12, 8th) 18
(Note: Each coach ranked other nine teams. First-place votes in parentheses. Points awarded on 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.).
2014-15 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Kalidou Diouf
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team, 12/13
Derrick Fain
GNAC co-Player of the Week, 1/26-2/1
Brian McGill
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Ron Logsdon Classic All-Tournament Team, 11/15
GNAC Player of the Week, 12/29-1/4
Travis Thompson
Div. II Bulletin ‘Super 16’ All-American
Preseason GNAC Player of the Year
Preseason All-GNAC Team
GCI Great Alaska Shootout Player of the Game (vs Rice), 11/29
GCI Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team, 11/29
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team, 12/13
Capital One Academic All-Distrcit 8 Team, 2/5
Nate Sagan
Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com
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