ANCHORAGE (Jan. 5) -
James Hartman found his shooting touch for 24 points and point guard
Luke Cooper dished 13 assists Thursday to lift the UAA men's basketball team to a crucial Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory, 78-71 over Seattle University at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (10-5, 1-2 GNAC) overcame a seven-point second-half deficit also thanks to 19 points from Adam Fitt-Chappell and 18 points from fellow senior Kemmy Burgess. Seattle (8-3, 2-1), which was trying to extend its best start since 1969, got 18 points and 10 rebounds from forward Jeffrey McDaniel.
The Seawolves entered the game as the third-best three-point shooting team in NCAA Div. II at 44.8 percent, and they improved on that statistic by hitting 13 of 25 from long range. No one was more clutch than Hartman, who was 5 of 6 on treys and made all seven of his free throws.
Hartman, a 6-5 swingman from Oceanside, Calif., gave UAA the lead for good with 3 minutes remaining when he swished a three-pointer from the wing that made it 68-66. After two Hartman free throws, the Redhawks cashed a traditional three-point play by center David White to cut their deficit to 70-69. But Hartman answered back in rapid fashion, draining another trey at the 1:27 mark to extend the lead again.
Sam Kirby's steal with under 30 seconds left led to a dunk by Adam Moore (15 points) that sliced UAA's advantage to 74-71, but the Redhawks could find no more offense. Seattle played without leading scorer Bernard Seals (19.4 ppg), who sat on the bench in street clothes because of strep throat.
The Seawolves jumped to a 33-23 lead in the first half thanks to hot shooting by Fitt-Chappell (7-13 FG, 4-8 3FG), who scored 11 of the team's first 14 points. Seattle stormed back with a 19-4 run to take a 45-41 lead at the break, however, as McDaniel scored 16 of his points in the first 20 minutes.
Cooper's 13 assists tied his career high and were the second-highest total by a GNAC player this season. The sophomore from Australia committed only two turnovers and grabbed three steals.
UAA, which earned assists on all 23 of its baskets Thursday, is back in action again Saturday with another GNAC game at the WFSC. The Seawolves take on Saint Martin's (5-7, 0-3) at 7 p.m. AST.
