ANCHORAGE ? Senior guard Kenny Barker scored 17 of his game-high 23 points after halftime to lead host Alaska Anchorage to a 62-57 victory over Louisiana Tech in the 7th-place game of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena on Saturday.
Sophomore Lonnie Ridgeway added a career-high 13 points for the Seawolves (1-5), who avoided going winless in back-to-back Shootouts for the first just the second time in 31 years (1981 & '82).
Standout guard Kyle Gibson led the Bulldogs (2-4) with 17 points, while 6-10 center Kenneth Cooper was effective on the inside with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
The smaller Seawolves were able to outrebound the Bulldogs by a significant margin, 46-32, including a career-high 11 boards from Barker. The 6-2 senior, who redshirted last year after transferring from arch-rival Alaska Fairbanks, also dished five assists and sank the game-clinching free throws with 8 seconds left.
UAA also used its best three-point shooting of the season (9 of 21, 43 percent) to come back from a 30-29 halftime deficit. Sophomore Kevin White sank both of his trey attempts, while Ridgeway and fellow sophomore guard Brandon Walker were both 2 of 4.
Seawolf center Jeremiah Trueman helped UAA significantly on the interior, totaling a season-high eight rebounds and scoring seven points (3-6 FG).
The victory was UAA's 47th all-time over a Division I opponent, with 29 of those coming in the Shootout.
UAA is off next week before traveling to Fairbanks for the Glacier Classic, Dec. 12-13. The Seawolves will face Virginia State and St. Thomas (Fla.) in those contests.
