ANCHORAGE – Carl Arts had 22 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Luke Cooper had another fine performance to power Alaska Anchorage to a 78-69 victory over rival Alaska Fairbanks in men's basketball action Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (15-6, 6-4 GNAC) got 16 points from center Ivan Platenik and 13 points, eight assists and three steals from fellow Australian Cooper to pull into a third-place tie with the Nanooks and within one game of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference lead.
UAF (15-9, 6-4) was led by a huge 24-point, 16-rebound effort from senior forward Jushay Rockett, and 16 points from guard Mike Titus as it had its 4-game winning streak snapped.
The game was a showdown between the teams ranked No. 6 (UAF) and No. 8 (UAA) in the official NCAA Div. II West Region poll (which determines which eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament) that came out earlier in the day.
The Seawolves would never trail in the contest, although the Nanooks stayed within single digits for 39 of the 40 minutes. After a three-pointer by UAF's Colin Matteson tied it at 24-24, UAA responded with a layup from Cooper and a traditional three-point play by Arts, who notched his third double-double of the season.
Eric Draper (9 points, 7 rebounds) swished a pair of 18-foot jumpers just before halftime to put UAA up 37-31 at the break.
The second half was more of the same as UAA went up by seven or nine points, only to see UAF trim the lead down to four or five. The Nanooks twice drew within three points late, but Joe Davis (9 pts) and Arts responded with back-to-back inside buckets to push it to 68-61 with two minutes to play.
Platenik (3-4 FG, 10-14 FT) and Cooper (4-7 FG, 4-6 FT, 40 minutes) then sealed the contest from the free throw line.
UAA now leads the all-time series with its arch rival 59-21, including a 35-5 mark in Anchorage. The rematch is set for the final game of the regular season, Mar. 3 in Fairbanks.
Next up for the Seawolves is a trip to Nampa, Idaho, to take on Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. AST. That game can be heard live in Anchorage on AM-550 KTZN 'The Zone,' or on the internet at GoSeawolves.com.
