ANCHORAGE (Feb. 2) - Forward
Peter Bullock had 25 points and 13 rebounds and the guard combination of Mark Drake and Ty Shippen combined for 31 points to lift the UAA men's basketball team to a 90-76 triumph over Alaska Fairbanks at the Sports Center tonight.
The win gives UAA (7-12, 7-3 GNAC) the first season sweep of its arch rival since the 1998-99 season. Senior center John Early was tough for UAF (3-16, 1-9), scoring a game-high 26 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
UAA, which entered the game shooting just 68.6 percent on free throws, turned that statistic into a positive Saturday, hitting 27 of 31 charities for a season-high 87.1 percent. Drake was perfect on six free throws on a night when his outside shooting struggled (4-13 FG, 2-10 3FG).
But Shippen, a senior transfer from Division I Brigham Young, was the steadiest presence in the UAA backcourt, going 4 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 6 on threes. He was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line while grabbing 5 rebounds, a game-best 4 steals and dishing 6 assists.
Bullock scored 12 points in the first half, leading his team to a 50-36 lead the break. The 6-6 sophomore shot 10 for 17 from the field and tallied two blocks, two steals and two assists in an impressive all-around effort.
But Bullock's opposite number, UAF's Early, kept his team in the game with a variety of spinning post moves that led to short jumpers or freed up teammates. The Nanooks cut UAA's advantage to 62-58 with 11:30 left when Early scored, got fouled and completed the three-point play.
But after playing in a daze, the Seawolves quickly switched the momentum back to themselves with a 13-4 run that included two three-pointers by Shippen, one from Drake and two layups by Bullock.
Combined with UAA's 70-62 win Dec. 6 in Fairbanks, the Seawolves took the season series 2-0 and have now won three of the last four meetings.
UAA hits the road this week for Great Northwest Athletic Conference games Feb. 7 at Central Washington and Feb. 9 at Saint Martin's.