ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Junior point guard Luke Cooper equaled his career-high with 21 points Thursday to help lift Alaska Anchorage to a 76-61 win over host Central Washington in a key game in the NCAA Div. II West Region men's basketball playoff race.

The Seawolves (18-7, 9-5 GNAC), ranked No. 7 in the region, also got 16 points from junior forward Carl Arts to sweep the season series from CWU and move into a first-place tie with Seattle Pacific in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.

The Wildcats (13-11, 8-5), ranked No. 9 regionally, were led by forward Lance Den Boer's game-high 31 points, but none of his teammates managed double figures as CWU had its 6-game winning streak snapped.

Cooper, who also dished six assists, sparked an early 9-0 run and the Seawolves held CWU to just six points in the opening eight minutes to take a permanent advantage.

After taking a 34-26 lead into halftime, the Seawolves quickly extended it with a 7-2 spurt to open the half, capped by one of Cooper's three three-pointers. The Wildcats would get within seven points with just over five minutes to play, but UAA responded with two Buddy Bailey free throws and a traditional three-point play by McCade Olsen (12 pts, 5-10 FG, 2-3 FT) to gain control once more.

In addition to Cooper (7-10 FG, 3-6 3FG, 4-4 FT), Arts (2-4 3FG, 6-6 FT) and Olsen, the Seawolves also got a strong offensive outing from senior guard Eric Draper with 14 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 4-5 FT). Draper did, however, miss his first free throw of the night, breaking a string of 33 straight that dated back to Nov. 23.

UAA next meets Seattle Pacific on Saturday (6 p.m. AST) for a first-place showdown at Royal Brougham Pavilion.