ANCHORAGE (Feb. 14) - Kemmy Burgess had a game-high 26 points, but Humboldt State's Austin Nichols scored eight of his 20 points in overtime as the third-ranked Lumberjacks beat the Seawolves 69-67 in a key Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game Saturday.
UAA (16-7, 6-6 GNAC) also got 16 points from swingman Adam Fitt-Chappell, while HSU (20-4, 11-2) relied on 25 points from the inside tandem of Fred Hooks and Trey Shannon.
The contest between the teams rated No. 3 and No. 8 in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings took on a postseason feel, with neither team leading by more than six points all night.
UAA came back from a 29-25 halftime deficit to grab a 45-39 lead with 11:35 remaining. Humboldt forged ahead however, on the hot shooting of Shannon (12 points, 6-9 FG) and Hooks (13 points, 6-13 FG).
A long-range Hooks jumper put the visitors up 56-51 with 3:07 to play, and the score remained unchanged until the 1:44 mark, when Burgess made two free throws. The Seawolves pressured on the inbounds pass and forced a turnover that led to a Burgess three-pointer seconds later, tying it at 56.
On the ensuing possession, HSU's Dustin Kaatz found himself wide open at the top of the key and nailed a three, his only shot attempt of the night and just his fifth trey of the season.
UAA threw the ball away on the following possession, but the Lumberjacks couldn't add to their advantage, leaving the home team another chance. Burgess then curled off a screen and nailed a three with 20 seconds left to tie it.
HSU point guard Mark White missed a baseline runner at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
With 30 seconds left in the extra session, Bullock split a pair of free throws to put UAA 66-65 with 30 seconds to play, before Nichols came down a coolly drained a three 13 seconds later.
UAA committed another turnover, just its 10th of the night, and fouled Kaatz with six seconds left. Kaatz missed the first and made the second, and White fouled Aaron Lawrence with 2.1 seconds showing. Lawrence made the first, purposely missed the second, and the Seawolves gained possession when the rebound was tipped out of bounds with 0.8 showing. Burgess got the ball beyond the three-point line, but his desperation attempt didn't draw iron.
It was the second straight year UAA has lost to the Lumberjacks in overtime at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Burgess connected on 6 of 10 threes and scored 22 of UAA's 34 points in the second half. But the junior couldn't get a clean look in the overtime period.
Fitt-Chappell was UAA's other big offensive weapon, making 6 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 5 threes. The sophomore made shot 8-for-9 from long range for the week, increasing his season percentage to .508.
Peter Bullock scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for UAA, but the senior was forced into 4-of-13 shooting and four turnovers.
The Seawolves play four of their last six games on the road, beginning with a journey to Seattle University on Thursday, Feb. 19.
