THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF MEN’S BASKETBALL
UAA hosts 23rd annual Seawolf Jamboree
Nov. 20-21 — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Friday’s Games
5 pm: Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-1)
vs Alaska Fairbanks (2-0)
7 pm: Life Pacific (1-3) at Alaska Anchorage (5-2)
Saturday’s Games
1 pm: Life Pacific vs Alaska Fairbanks
3 pm: Cal State Dominguez Hills at Alaska Anchorage
TV: UAA games only – live throughout Alaska on GCI cable Ch. 1 (SD) and Ch. 999 (HD).
RADIO: None
TICKETS: $10 at the door, online at alaskaairlinescenter.com, or by calling 907-786-1562 ... discounts apply for UAA staff/faculty, alumni, senior (60+), youth (3-18) and military ... groups of 10 or more can purchase in bulk for $6 per ticket ... UAA students free with valid WolfCard ... more information at GoSeawolves.com.
LIVE VIDEOSTREAM & STATS: All four games free at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2014-15 stats)
G—Diante Mitchell, 6-1, Jr. (11.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg, .529 3FG, .900 FT)
G—Sekou ‘Suki’ Wiggs, 6-4, Jr. (24.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.0 spg, .483 FG, .815 FT)
G—Spencer Svejcar, 6-4, Jr. (11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, .893 FT)
F—Corey Hammell, 6-6, Jr. (13.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, .755 FT)
F—Christian Leckband, 6-7, Sr. (10.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, .458 FG, .889 FT)
or Tayler Thompson, 6-8, Jr. (4.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .579 FG)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @UAAMBB (for in-game updates) and @UAASeawolves
Facebook: Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
Instagram: UAA_Seawolves
YouTube & SnapChat: UAA Seawolves
Hashtags: #SeawolfHoops #UAASeawolves
AK NATIVE HERITAGE CELEBRATION: This week’s games will feature a celebration of Alaska Native Heritage Month, sponsored by Alyeska Pipeline, Spawn Ideas and Alaska Public Media ... in addition to selected halftime performances, the event will feature Alaska Native arts & crafts, dance, language ane cultural exchanges.
ALL-TIME SERIES...
vs Life Pacific: First meeting
vs CSUDH: Tied leads 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Anchorage / Last: CSUDH 88-81 (11/10/13 at Disney Div. II Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif.) / Streak: CSUDH 1 / Notes: All four meetings have been decided by 7 points or fewer ... Saturday’s game will mark first meeting in Anchorage since teams split on Dec. 14 & 15, 1979; UAA won 87-80 the first night and lost 83-82 in the rematch.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Located in San Dimas, Calif., Life Pacific is a National Christian College Athletic Association team that plays in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference ... the Warriors, who play a schedule mixed with NCAA Div. I, II, III, NAIA and NCCAA opponents, earned their lone win so far with a 74-72 road decision against Antelope Valley on Nov. 10 ... Cal State Dominguez Hills split a pair of narrow contests in Riverside, Calif., last week to begin its season, losing 75-72 to No. 11 Cal Baptist on Friday and beating Holy Names 84-79 on Saturday ... picked to finish last in the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s preseason coaches’ poll, the Toros have been led so far by Justin Sadler (22.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, .708 FG, .909 FT) and Ivan Dooley (18.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, .650 FG, 4-9 3FG).
HAWAIIANS HANDLED: The Seawolves ran their winning streak to four games with a pair of narrow victories against NCAA Div. II West Region rivals Chaminade (92-90) and Hawaii Pacific (69-65) on Nov. 13-14 in Fairbanks at the GCI GNAC/Pac West Challenge ... in the first game, Jr. F Corey Hammell had 24 points (6-10 FG, 12-15 FT) and 15 rebounds and Jr. G Suki Wiggs (11-12 FT) tallied 24 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists as UAA hung on despite seeing an 18-point second-half lead cut down to one in the final minutes ... Jr. G Diante Mitchell had 13 points (8-8 FT), 5 assists and 4 rebounds, and Jr. G Spencer Svejcar tallied 18 points (8-9 FT) and 4 rebounds to help UAA shoot 39 of 44 from the foul stripe ... on Saturday, Wiggs scored seven of his 26 points (8-18 FG, 9-10 FT) in the final 5 minutes and added 4 assists to help UAA rally from a 6-point deficit with 4:45 remaining against the Sharks ... Hammell posted another double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, along with 3 steals, and Sr. F Christian Leckband added 14 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, connecting on the clinching FTs with 3.5 seconds left.
NO BLINKIN’ VS. LINCOLN: UAA earned 94-47 and 105-50 wins against NCCAA/NAIA program Lincoln Christian in its home openers, Nov. 6-7 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves got 21 points (9-12 FG), 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals from Jr. G Suki Wiggs in the first game, plus 15 points (7-11 FG) and 3 steals off the bench from Sr. F Christian Leckband ... Jr. G Drew Peterson poured in 12 points (4-7 3FG), but the victory came at a cost as So. F Sjur Berg suffered a broken elbow on a 1st-half tumble under the basket ... on Saturday, Jr. G Diante Mitchell scored 27 points (8-11 FG, 5-7 3FG, 6-6 FT), dished 4 assists and made a UAA season-high 5 steals as UAA earned its first winning streak of 2015-16 ... Wiggs deposited 22 points (9-14 FG) and Jr. F Corey Hammell tallied 15 points (5-9 FG), 8 rebounds and 3 assists against the visitors from Illinois.
DISNEY RECAP: The Seawolves were one of six teams nationally to get an early jump on the 2015-16 campaign with three games at the CCA Tip-Off Classic in Southern California, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 … in the season-opener, Jr. G Suki Wiggs scored 20 points to spark a rally from down 11 points with under 8 minutes to play against Upper Iowa, resulting in a 74-71 UAA victory in Anaheim … Jr. F Corey Hammell posted 18 points (6-12 FG) and 10 rebounds in his Seawolf debut, Jr. G Spencer Svejcar had 14 points (12-12 FT), and Jr. G Diante Mitchell had 12 points as UAA got 70 of its 74 points from newcomers … So. F Sjur Berg snagged a game-high 11 rebounds against the Peacocks … on Saturday in Anaheim, Wiggs exploded for a tournament-record 34 points (10-22 FG, 12-14 FT), but the Seawolves could not mount a comeback in a 79-68 loss to No. 11 Cal Baptist … Wiggs added 7 rebounds and 4 steals, while Hammell was the only other Seawolf in double figures with 12 points, along with 11 rebounds … on the final day – played in Carson, Calif. – the Seawolves led 17-12 early before succumbing to a game-deciding 20-0 run by Colorado-Colorado Springs in a 79-70 setback … Wiggs posted 21 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, and Sr. F Christian Leckband had his best game of the weekend with 15 points (5-8 FG, 3-5 3FG), 6 rebounds and no turnovers … Svejcar scored all 13 of his points in the second half, but no other Seawolf contributed more than six against the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tourney champs.
TEAM NOTES: UAA is seeking the program’s 11th straight winning season and the 33rd in 39 years … last year’s Seawolves earned the the program’s fifth straight top-4 GNAC finish and plus-.500 league record ... UAA has qualified for the GNAC Tournament each year since the event was instituted in 2011.
SUKI SMOOTH: Div. I transfer Sekou ‘Suki’ Wiggs has lived up to his billing as a Preseason All-GNAC selection so far, setting a Seawolf program record by scoring at least 20 points in his first seven games in Green & Gold ... the former Seattle O’Dea High star set the Div. II Tip-Off Classic single-game scoring record with 34 points against Cal Baptist on Oct. 31, and he tallied a combined 50 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in last week’s 2- and 4-point wins in Fairbanks ... a double-digit career scorer in two seasons at Idaho, Wiggs was the Western Athletic Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year as a freshman in 2013-14.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: Jr. F Corey Hammell has shown why he averaged a double-double as a sophomore last season at Santa Rosa Junior College, tallying four such performances in his first seven games as a Seawolf ... Hammell scored a season-high 24 points and matched UAA’s best rebounding total of 2014-15 with 15 boards in the 69-65 win over Hawaii Pacific, converting a key three-point play with 15 seconds left.
RELIABLE RETURNERS: Sr. F Christian Leckband the most experienced Seawolf on the roster, posting career averages of 5.9 ppg and 3.2 rpg in 83 career appearances, including 28 starts, in his first three seasons ... after a slow start in the first two games this year, Leckband has averaged 13.2 ppg while shooting 8 of 19 from long range over the last five contests ... the Nome native equaled the second-most rebounds of his career with 9 in the win over HPU ... Jr. F Travis Parrish has quietly been one of UAA’s most efficient players since transfering last season from Utah State, where he was a 2-year squad member on the Aggies’ football team ... last year, Parrish was one of four Seawolves to shoot .550 or better, connecting at a .585 clip (24 of 41) after entering the starting lineup on Dec. 13 ... the Utah native had his best week of the season in Fairbanks last week, tallying 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 29 minutes off the bench.
REDSHIRTS RETURN: Two players who sat out the 2014-15 campaign as redshirts – So. F Jackson McTier and Fr. G Damien Fulp – are getting their chances to impact the lineup this time around ... McTier saw limited action in 24 games as a true freshman in 2013-14, and he has added more muscle to his 6-7 frame ... meanwhile, Fulp has also added about 15 pounds since his prep playing days at Colony High in Palmer ... a former all-state performer for the Knights, Fulp brings the ability to play either guard position.
TRANSFERS STATION: Five former junior college standouts are making a major impact on UAA’s new-look squad, with Corey Hammell (Santa Rosa JC) joined by combo guard Diante Mitchell (Western Nebraska CC), wings Spencer Svejcar (Laramie County [Wyo.] CC) and Drew Peterson (San Diego Miramar Coll.), and forward Tayler Thompson (Cuesta Coll.) boosting the frontcourt ... Svejcar was an NJCAA All-Region IX First Team selection as a sophomore after averaging 16.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 2.5 apg, while shooting .405 3FG ... the Colorado native has tallied double figures in five of seven games so far as a Seawolf, including 18 points (8-9 FT) in the win over Chaminade and 14 points (12-12 FT) in the win over HPU ... Svejcar also has a solid 15/4 assist/turnover ratio in 202 minutes ... in his two years at WNCC, Mitchell averaged nearly 15 points and 3 assists per game, connecting at impressive rates of .508 FG, .408 3FG and .860 FT in 2014-15 ... the former NJCAA Academic All-American has been UAA’s primary ball-handler thus far, sporting a 26/15 assist/turnover ratio, while shooting .900 (18-20) from the FT line and .529 (14-27) from long range ... Peterson, the final addition to UAA’s recruting class, was a 2-time All-PCAC honoree at Miramar, where he averaged 12.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg and shot .853 FT last season ... Thompson was an All-Western States Conference performer at Cuesta last year, averaging 11.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg and shooting .581 FG ... he premiered against Upper Iowa with 7 rebounds and scored 10 points (5-6 FG) in the first game against Lincoln Christian.
INJURY REPORT: UAA suffered a blow Nov. 6 when So. F Sjur Berg suffered a broken elbow in the Seawolves’ home opener ... following surgery, Berg is expected to miss at least two months and possibly the rest of the season ... the Norwegian ranked second on the team (15th GNAC) last year with 5.2 rpg and was averaging 7.0 rpg through the first three games this year.
REDSHIRTS ANNOUNCED: Head coach Rusty Osborne has announced that Fr. F/C Curtis Ryan and Jr. G/F Augustus Simmers will redshirt the 2015-16 campaign.
THE OSBORNE FILE: Now in his 12th year as head coach, Rusty Osborne (211-121) has led the Seawolves to 10 straight winning seasons, along with 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, 2015, 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 in 2015-16 by Cameron Turner (5th season) and Kasey Riley (1st season).
SEAWOLVES TABBED 4TH: The Seawolves were picked to finish fourth in the 2015-16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll, released Oct. 15.
2015-16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll
Rk Team (1st-pl. votes) ‘14-15 Records Pts
1. Western Washington (5) 20-11/11-7 (t-5th) 114
2. Western Oregon (4) 23-7/15-3 (1st) 106
3. Seattle Pacific (2) 24-8/13-5 (2nd) 100
4. Alaska Anchorage 16-13/12-6 (t-3rd) 92
5. Central Washington 17-9/12-6 (t-3rd) 80
6. Alaska Fairbanks 7-19/4-14 (8th) 63
7. Saint Martin’s 6-22/3-15 (t-9th) 41
Montana State Billings 5-23/3-15 (t-9th) 41
9. Northwest Nazarene 14-16/11-7 (t-5th) 37
10. Concordia, Ore. 25-7 1st Yr in GNAC 32
11. Simon Fraser 11-15/6-12 (7th) 20
(Votes awarded on 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis)
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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