ANCHORAGE (Feb. 5) - The UAA men's basketball team fought back from a 14-point deficit, but couldn't complete its comeback Saturday, falling 72-67 to Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (9-11, 3-8 GNAC) were led by a career-high 19 points from freshman Carl Arts, while the Crusaders (11-9, 5-6) were powered by 20 points from sharp-shooter Ryan McCarthy as they shot 54 percent from the field.
UAA trailed 34-20 with four minutes left in the first half before Mark Drake (10 points) and Marcus Robinson put together a string of eight straight free throws to cut it 38-32 at the break.
The Seawolves rallied to tie the score three times before taking their first lead, 59-57, on a James Hartman layup with 8:54 showing. The lead changed hands four more times over the next five minutes, with Robinson (14 points, 3-10 FG, 0-4 3FG, 8-8 FT) giving UAA its final advantage on a steal and layup with 3:43 on the clock.
However all-league candidate Mesut Ademoglu converted back-door layups on the Crusaders' next two possessions and made an improbable behind-the-back feed to Daniel Nyom for a bucket that made it 70-65 with 1:15 to go.
UAA sliced it to 70-67 on an Arts layup just 12 seconds later, and got a chance at the tying possession with a defensive stop.
NNU's defense, which allowed UAA to shoot 60 percent in the second half, picked a good time to make at stand at that point, denying the Seawolves even a three-point try. Arts' close-in attempt in the waning seconds rolled off the rim and the Crusaders grabbed the rebound and the win.
Hartman was UAA's other big offensive contributor, with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but the junior swingman was just 1 of 8 from three-point range.
The Seawolves, who came in shooting 40 percent on treys, made just three of their 18 attempts Saturday. Meanwhile, NNU shot 50 percent from long distance, including McCarthy's 5-of-6 effort.
UAA is back on the road next week (Feb. 10 at Saint Martin's; Feb. 12 at Central Washington) before heading home for three of its final five games.
