ANCHORAGE (Mar. 2) -
Kemmy Burgess scored a game-high 31 points, however it wasn't enough Thursday against a red-hot Central Washington squad as the visitors handed UAA its first loss at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex this season, 88-85.
The Seawolves (18-11, 9-8 GNAC) cut a 20-point second-half deficit down to just two points in the final minute before running out of time. The Wildcats (14-11, 10-7) shot an astounding 70.6 percent (12 of 17) on three-pointers, getting 22 points from swingman Lance Den Boer and 20 from guard Robert Hicks.
The result means UAA (18-11, 9-8 GNAC) must win Saturday night against nationally 9th-ranked Western Washington to assure itself of an NCAA Tournament berth. The Seawolves entered Thursday's contest ranked No. 5 in the West Region, while the Wildcats came in at No. 8. The top eight teams in the region will make the NCAA field, to be announced Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. AST.
UAA, which also got 21 points and eight rebounds from sophomore forward Joe Davis (7-16 FG, 7-7 FT), could never find its offensive flow in the first half. Meanwhile, CWU couldn't miss, hitting 6 of 7 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to take a 44-31 lead at the break.
The Wildcats didn't cool off to start the second half either, getting multiple long-range bombs from Den Boer (3-6 3FG, 9-10 FT) and Hicks (6-8 3FG) to balloon their lead to 61-41 with 15:53 to play.
UAA kept chipping away, however, and finally got within single digits for good when Davis scored on a feed from Burgess, making it 79-71 at the 6:07 mark.
Four straight points by James Hartman sliced the deficit to 85-83 with 45 seconds showing, but UAA couldn't get a stop on its next possession as Aaron Lawrence fouled Chris Bannish just before the shot clock expired. Bannish made both free throws with 12.7 seconds left, and Brian Hills (12 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk) threw down a dunk nine seconds later to trail again by two.
UAA fouled Den Boer, a 93 percent free throw shooter, who missed the first of two shots with 2.3 ticks to play. After Den Boer made the second, CWU fouled UAA point guard Luke Cooper on purpose to prevent a possible three-point shot. Cooper missed the first free throw, forcing him to try to miss the second intentionally, which he accomplished. Davis swatted the rebound outside the three-point arc, but no one was there for the Seawolves as time expired.
UAA had not lost at the WFSC since last Feb. 19 against Seattle Pacific (117-112, 2OT).
The Seawolves and Western Washington - ranked No. 1 in the West - tip off at 7 p.m. Saturday at the WFSC. The Vikings (21-5, 13-4 GNAC) lost 85-79 at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday to fall into a tie with SPU for the league lead.
