SEATTLE – Joe Davis scored 17 points and Carl Arts pulled down 11 rebounds, but the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team fell just shy of its third straight road win Saturday, falling 65-64 to host Seattle University at the Connolly Center.
The Seawolves (13-5, 4-3 GNAC) also got 11 points from forward Ivan Platenik and 10 points from Luke Cooper in the finale of a 4-game road trip. The Redhawks (12-6, 4-3) stayed close behind forward Leigh Swanson's game-high 19 points, then took the lead in the late-going on the hot shooting of three-point specialist Chris Gweth.
UAA, ranked No. 5 in the West Region, led for the majority of the game and forged a 51-43 advantage on a Davis layin with 7:16 remaining. However, Gweth came off the Seattle bench and immediately sliced into the lead with a three-pointer, and, a few minutes later, he answered an empty UAA possession by converting a four-point play that tied it 55-55 with 3:17 left.
The Seawolves got a Cooper free throw to go up 56-55, but that would be their last lead as Gweth (17 pts, 4-4 3FG) nailed his final trey 20 seconds later.
Trailing 63-61 with 18 seconds remaining, the Seawolves had a chance to tie or go ahead, however Cooper's pass to McCade Olsen was intercepted by Ryan Webb, who made the game-clinching free throws. Cooper banked a three-pointer with 0.8 showing on the clock for the final margin.
The Seawolves, who entered with an NCAA Div. II national-best 21 assists per game, were held to a season-low six by the tenacious Redhawk defense.
Webb finished with 12 points for the Redhawks, ranked No. 6 in the region.
UAA returns home next week to the Wells Fargo Sports Complex to take on Western Oregon (Thur., Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m.) and Saint Martin's (Sat., Feb. 3, 7 p.m.).
