Huskies hold off Seawolves, 71-68

ANCHORAGE - Darion Anderson scored a game-high 25 points and forward Sean Smith came off the bench with sizzling three-point shooting Friday to lead Northern Illinois to a 71-68 come-from-behind victory over host Alaska Anchorage in the consolation semifinals of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena.

The Huskies (3-3) also got 11 points from center Sean Kowal to advance to Saturday's 4th/6th-place contest against Louisiana Tech or Western Carolina at 2 p.m.

UAA (0-5), which held the lead for middle portion of the contest, was paced by 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists from senior guard Kenny Barker. Sophomore guard Brandon Walker scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds and four steals, while Kevin White (12 points) and Jeremiah Trueman (10 points) also reached double digits for the Seawolves.

The loss gives UAA its longest single-season losing streak since opening the 2001-02 season 0-6. That skid included Shootout losses to Indiana, Tennessee and Oregon State.

Friday's matchup was competitive throughout, with UAA going on a 7-0 run to end the first half with a 31-25 lead. The Division II Seawolves increased their advantage to 38-31 on a pair of free throws from Barker (6-7 FT), but the visitors from the Mid-American Conference would creep back slowly.

With UAA up 48-47 at the 8-minute mark, Smith exploded for four straight three-pointers in just over three minutes. When the 6-7 senior was done with his shooting display, NIU led 61-51 with less than 5 minutes to play. Smith made 5 of 6 treys to come close to the Shootout record (6 of 6), accumulating 19 points and five rebounds.

The Seawolves return to action Saturday at noon to face the LT-WCU loser in the 7th/8th-place contest.

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Players Mentioned

#RS Kenny Barker: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#25 Jeremiah Trueman: F; 6' 9"; Junior

#1 Kevin White: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#22 Brandon Walker: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#RS Kenny Barker
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#25 Jeremiah Trueman
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F

#1 Kevin White
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#22 Brandon Walker
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G