FAIRBANKS ? Eric Draper scored 23 points and Luke Cooper poured in a season-high 17 to lead Alaska Anchorage to an 83-65 men's basketball victory over Augustana in the Glacier Classic on Saturday.
The Seawolves (7-2) also got 11 points apiece from forwards Ivan Platenik and Carl Arts as they captured the event's unofficial title. Augustana (8-2) was led by forward Nick Olson's 15 points as the Vikings (8-2) had their seven-game win streak snapped.
UAA shot 58.1 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent from the free throw line while committing a season-low nine turnovers. Draper made 5 of 8 from three-point range and Cooper connected on 3 of 6 as the team shot over 50 percent (13 of 25) on treys for the second straight night.
The Seawolves opened a 38-27 halftime lead and began the second half with consecutive three-pointers from Allen McFarland, Arts and Cooper to build a seemingly insurmountable 49-29 cushion.
But the Vikings, of Sioux Falls, S.D., weren't through as the long-range shooting of guard Joey Ryan (14 pts, 4-8 3FG) kept them in the game. After having the lead cut to 64-58 with under seven minutes left, Arts sparked UAA's final surge with a driving basket, Draper nailed a quick pair of threes and Cooper connected on two from the free throw line to push the lead back to double-digits for good.
Draper scored 16 of his points in the second half and went 4 of 4 from the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, Cooper, who had only 18 total points in UAA's first eight games, broke out of his season-long scoring slump by making 6 of 10 from the field. The junior point guard also had game-highs of six assists and three steals while committing just two turnovers in 35 minutes. His 17 points were just one shy of his career high, set last season at Northwest Nazarene.
Freshman Trenton Millar came off the bench with eight points (2-3 3FG) and senior Buddy Bailey scored six. Second-leading scorer McCade Olsen, who had 27 in Friday's win over Florida Tech, scored only four points and grabbed three rebounds in 19 minutes as he fought foul trouble.
The victory over the North Central Conference school kept UAA perfect against Division II competition this season at 4-0.
UAA is off for final exams until it opens play in the AT&T Alascom Jamboree against BYU-Hawaii, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Alaska Fairbanks and Hawaii-Hilo will start the Jamboree prior to that game, and the opposite Hawaii and Alaska teams will face off Dec. 29 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Glacier Classic All-Tournament Team
E.J. Murray, Florida Tech
Jushay Rockett, Alaska Fairbanks
Carl Arts, Alaska Anchorage
Nick Olson, Augustana
MVP: Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage
