NAMPA, Idaho – Junior point guard Luke Cooper had 12 points and 10 assists Saturday to pace a balanced Alaska Anchorage attack in an 89-75 men's basketball victory over Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Complex.
Junior forward Carl Arts tallied team-highs of 13 points and eight rebounds for the Seawolves (16-6, 7-4 GNAC), who are ranked No. 8 in the latest West Region poll. UAA improved its playoff position by shooting 56 percent from the field, including 47 percent from three-point range.
NNU (7-14, 2-8) got a game-high 21 points from guard Justin Parnell, but the Crusaders were playing catch-up all night as UAA raced to leads of 8-0, 29-12 and finally 43-20 at halftime.
Arts (5-9 FG) converted a traditional three-point play and Cooper hit a free throw to put UAA up by 27 early in the second half.
The Crusaders, who managed just one assist and nine turnovers in the first half, didn't roll over, though. NNU cut its deficit to just 15 points with 11:19 to play on a Marcus Clift three-pointer, and twice shaved it to 13 in the final 8 minutes.
UAA's bench players would play a huge role at the end, however, starting with forward Steve Mitchell, whose bank-in, 28-foot three-pointer beat the shot clock to put UAA back up 70-52 with just over five minutes left.
Fellow reserve Cameron Burney converted 8-of-10 free throws in the final minutes to finish with a career-high 12 points, and backup guard Buddy Bailey scored 11 points.
Starting guard Eric Draper was the fifth Seawolf in double figures with 11 points as UAA won its third straight.
The Seawolves return to the Wells Fargo Sports Complex next week for their final two home games, Thursday, Feb. 15 against Seattle University (7:30 p.m.), and Saturday, Feb. 17 against Western Washington (7 p.m.).
