THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF MEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Dec. 3 – 8 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Central Washington (4-0, 0-0 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (6-4, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Dec. 5 – 2 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Northwest Nazarene (3-0, 0-0 GNAC [12/3 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
TV: Both games, live throughout Alaska on GCI cable Ch. 1 (SD) and Ch. 999 (HD).
RADIO: None
LIVE VIDEOSTREAM & STATS: portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa
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.
GAME TIMES SHIFTED: Originally slated to both begin at 7 p.m., this week’s game times have been adjusted to accommodate UAA hosting the 2015 NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center.
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2015-16 stats)
G—Diante Mitchell, 6-1, Jr. (10.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, .485 3FG, .846 FT)
G—Sekou ‘Suki’ Wiggs, 6-4, Jr. (24.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.9 spg, .466 FG, .333 3FG, .750 FT)
G—Spencer Svejcar, 6-4, Jr. (13.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, .328 3FG, .867 FT)
F—Corey Hammell, 6-6, Jr. (12.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, .427 FG, .743 FT)
F—Tayler Thompson, 6-8, Jr. (4.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.7 bpg, .600 FG, 4-4 FT)
or C—Brian Pearson, 6-9, So. (0.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.7 bpg)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @UAAMBB (for in-game updates) and @UAASeawolves
Facebook: Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
Instagram: UAA_Seawolves
YouTube & SnapChat: UAA Seawolves
Hashtags: #SeawolfHoops #UAASeawolves
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Central Washington has notched three NCAA Div. II West Region wins so far, winning a non-conference counter at Simon Fraser, plus neutral-court games vs. Hawaii-Hilo and BYU-Hawaii ... the Wildcats are led by 6-2 Sr. G Gary Jacobs (20.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.3 spg, .667 FG) and 6-8 Sr. C Joseph Stroud (18.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.8 bpg, .608 FG) ... Northwest Nazarene has played just one Div. II opponent through its first three games, earning a 80-75 home win over Cal State LA on Nov. 21 ... the Crusaders are led so far by 6-6 Jr. G Bouna N’Diaye (19.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg, .545 FG, .533 3FG, .789 FT) and 6-1 Sr. PG Mike Wright (17.7 ppg, 7.0 apg, .556 FG, .563 3FG, .700 FT).
THE SERIES vs CWU: Tied 17-17
In Anchorage: UAA leads 9-6
Last: CWU 80-67 (2/19/15 at CWU)
Streak: CWU 2
Notes: CWU has won four of the last five meetings and two straight in Anchorage, including a 77-68 win on its first trip to the Alaska Airlines Center, Jan. 22, 2015 ... teams have split the regular-season series in six of the last eight years, although CWU earned a sweep in 2014-15 ... the road team has won three of the last four meetings, including UAA’s 96-89 win in Ellensburg, Feb. 13, 2014 ... UAA leads 15-13 in GNAC regular-season meetings since the league formed in 2001-02 … first meeting occurred Feb. 1, 1979, although teams did not play again until Feb. 2000.
THE SERIES vs NNU: UAA leads 18-11
In Anchorage: UAA leads 11-4
Last: NNU 100-93 (2/21/15 at NNU)
Streak: NNU 1
Notes: UAA has won eight of the last 10 meetings, including a 67-57 win in the first clash at the Alaska Airlines Center last season... ... UAA has won five straight in Anchorage, with NNU’s last win coming by a 78-76 count, Mar. 4, 2010 ... UAA leads 17-11 in GNAC meetings … first meeting as D-II opponents was Feb. 3, 2001.
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA CWU NNU
UAA Home/Opp. Road 3-2 1-0 0-0
Points per Game 83.8 102.0 87.3
Points Allowed/Game 70.7 84.2 73.0
Rebounding Diff. +5.9 +5.8 -2.7
Assists per Game 17.7 20.0 18.0
Turnovers per Game 11.8 11.3 19.0
Steals per Game 6.6 7.5 7.7
Blocks per Game 2.5 5.5 4.0
FG% .457 .542 .481
3-pt FG% .354 .447 .438
FT% .782 .659 .747
SOLID SHOOTOUT SHOWING, SUKI SOARS: The Seawolves put forth an impressive trio of efforts against their annual gaunlet of Div. I opponents in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 26-28, beating Drexel (71-65) and suffering narrow defeats to Middle Tennessee (75-72) and San Jose State (91-87) ... the SJSU result counts on UAA’s regular-season record and stats, while the other two games counted as exhibitions for UAA and regular games for its opponents ... in the first round against Middle Tennessee, Jr. G Sekou ‘Suki’ Wiggs scored a tourney-high 35 points (11-20 FG, 6-10 3FG, 7-8 FT) as UAA took the eventual champs down to the last second ...Jr. G Spencer Svejcar added 14 points and 3 steals, and Jr. PG Diante Mitchell had 11 points (2-3 3FG), 3 assists and 4 steals against the Blue Raiders ... in the consolation semis against Drexel, Wiggs poured in 33 points (11-27 FG, 7-17 3FG) and Jr. F Corey Hammell posted 14 points (12-16 FT) and 12 rebounds to get the Seawolves in the win column for the 31st time in 38 Shootouts ... Sr. F Christian Leckband added 11 points and Mitchell dished 5 assists, while helping the Seawolves commit just seven turnovers ... in the 4th/6th-place game Saturday, Wiggs scored 30 points (9-19 FG, 3-9 3FG, 9-14 FT), along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, but the Spartans’ hot shooting was just enough to fend off the Seawolves’ late charge ... Svejcar had his second-highest total as a Seawolf with 19 points (7-9 FG, 4-5 3FG), Mitchell tallied 13 points (4-7 FG) and 6 assists with just one turnover, and Jr. G Drew Peterson delivered his best all-around effort in Green & Gold with 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG), 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 12 minutes off the bench ... Wiggs was chosen to the GCI All-Tournament Team after his 98 points broke the 22-year-old tourney scoring record held by former Purdue star Glenn Robinson.
WIGGS NABS GNAC WEEKLY HONOR: Coming off his record-setting performance in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout, Jr. G Sekou ‘Suki’ Wiggs was named the GNAC Player of the Week for Nov. 23-29 ... the Idaho transfer averaged 32.7 points per game against all Division I competition in the eight-team tournament, Nov. 26-28, helping the Seawolves to a victory over Drexel and 3- and 4-point losses to Middle Tennessee and San Jose State ... Wiggs broke the 38-year-old tournament’s scoring record with 98 points, surpassing the 97 by Purdue legend Glenn Robinson from 1993 ... the Seattle native (O’Dea HS) shot 47 percent (31-66) from the floor, including 44 percent from 3FG range, with his 16 treys tying for 3rd-most in tourney history ... he added 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game, while committing just 8 total turnovers in 113 minutes ... Wiggs tallied 33 points in UAA’s 71-65 discretionary exhibition victory over Drexel, along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes ... he tied for the 2nd-highest scoring game by a Seawolf in Shootout history with 35 in the opener against eventual champ Middle Tennessee, and he led the tournament in scoring by more than 10 ppg, becoming first player to tally at least 30 in all three games.
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves leads the early GNAC stats with 12.7 offensive rebounds per game and rank 2nd in FT% (.782), FG% defense (.422) and assist/turnover ratio (1.5) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is 20th in FT%, 22nd in A/T ratio and 51st in assists per game (17.2) ... 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 10 games in Green & Gold ... in the early GNAC stats, he paces the 11-team league with 24.3 ppg, along with ranks of 5th in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and 7th in assists (4.2 apg) ... 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 UAA’s 2- and 4-point wins over Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific ... 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.
HAMMELL TIME: Jr. F Corey Hammell has shown why he averaged a double-double as a sophomore last season at Santa Rosa Junior College, tallying five such performances – all against Div. II compeition – in his first eight 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 ... in the early GNAC stats, he leads the league in both rebounding (8.8 rpg) and offensive rebounding (4.9 orpg).
RELIABLE RETURNERS: Sr. F Christian Leckband is the most experienced Seawolf on the roster, with his 93 career games now ranking 20th in program history ... coming off the bench in nine of 10 contests so far, he has improved on his career scoring (10.9 ppg from 5.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg from 3.2 rpg) averages, boosted by a career-high 27 points in the win over Life Pacific ... after a slow start in the first two games this year, Leckband has averaged 13.1 ppg on .514 FG% since then ... the Nome native equaled the second-most rebounds of his career with 9 in the win over HPU, and he dished a season-high 4 assists in the loss to Div. I San Jose State ... 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 ... the Utah native owns a career .539 FG% in 39 games, along with a 1.75/1 assist/turnover ratio ... Parrish had his best week this season in UAA’s wins over Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific, tallying 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 29 minutes off the bench.
TRANSFERS MAKING IMPACT: 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 eight of 10 games so far as a Seawolf, including 18 points (8-9 FT) in the win over Chaminade, 20 points (8-12 FG) against CSUDH and 19 points (7-9 FG, 4-5 3FG) against San Jose State... Svejcar also has a solid 23/7 assist/turnover ratio in 301 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 33/19 assist/turnover ratio, while shooting an .846 FT% and .485 3FG% ... 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 had 6 points against UC Colorado Springs ... Thompson has been the Seawolves’ most accurate shooter (18-30 FG, 4-4 FT) thus far, and he has five blocked shots in the last three games, including two apiece against HPU and CSUDH ... 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 ... the Southern California native had a breakout showing against San Jose State last week, scoring 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG), along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steals in just 12 minutes.
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.
KEY PLAYERS SIDELINED: 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 ... the Seawolves will also be missing Sr. G Brian McGill for the Shootout after it was announced Oct. 27 that the team’s leading returning scorer (13.8 ppg) and assist man (5.8 apg), will be ineligible for the fall semester ... a Preseason All-GNAC selection, McGill was named honorable mention All-GNAC last season after posting top-15 GNAC ranks in six different categories ... the Oregon native was 3rd in assists (29th nationally), 12th in scoring, 9th in minutes per game (30.4), 9th in assist/turnover ratio (1.7), 11th in 3FG% (.419) and 11th in FT% (.794) ... the former Western Oregon transfer garnered All-GNAC Second Team honors in 2013-14.
THE OSBORNE FILE: Now in his 12th year as head coach, Rusty Osborne (214-123) 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).
2015-16 Seawolf Individual Honors
Corey Hammell
GCI GNAC/Pac West Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team
Brian McGill
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Suki Wiggs
Preseason All-GNAC Team
GCI GNAC/Pac West Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Jamboree Most Outstanding Player
GCI Great Alaska Shootout Player of the Game vs Middle Tennesssee
GCI Great Alaska Shootout Player of the Game vs Drexel
GCI Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Nov. 23-29
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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