ANCHORAGE ? Kevin White and Kenny Barker combined for 43 points and led a record-setting three-point display Saturday as Alaska Anchorage earned its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory, 90-79 over Central Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (7-8, 1-1 GNAC) also got 13 points, 10 rebounds and four assists from sophomore Brandon Walker to overcome a big second-half rally by the Wildcats (7-3, 1-1).
CWU was powered by 26 points from reserve guard Brandon Foote and 16 points from leading scorer Matt Penoncello, but the preseason GNAC coaches' poll favorites were outrebounded 28-16 and stung by UAA's hot shooting.
The Wildcats shot an impressive 53.3 percent from the floor, including 50 percent (12 of 24) from three-point range, however the Seawolves were even sharper. UAA nailed 76.5 percent (13 of 17) of its treys ? breaking the old school record of .750 (9 of 12) against Adams State in Dec. 1999 ? and hit a season-best 63.3 percent overall.
UAA's 16 rebounds allowed also matched a school record from Dec. 1988 against Missouri Western.
Barker scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half as UAA jumped to a 49-32 lead at the break.
However, after grabbing a 54-36 edge on Walker's three-pointer with 17:34 left, the Wildcats would make a huge run.
Central sliced its deficit in half in just two minutes, and a Foote three-pointer at the 10:49 mark made it a 62-60 contest. But UAA maintained its lead between two and eight points for the next few minutes, and White drained its fifth and final trey with 3:50 left to extend to an 80-71 lead.
The Wildcats committed several fouls down the stretch but could never get closer than nine.
White finished with a career-high 21 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting and 6-of-6 free-throw shooting. The 6-4 sophomore from Australia also dished three assists.
Barker had a team-high six assists and grabbed five rebounds, nailing 3 of 5 from long range. Meanwhile, Walker shot 2 of 3, Darren Nye 2 of 2, and Steve White 1 of 1 on treys.
Senior center Jeremiah Trueman, who missed Thursday's home loss to Northwest Nazarene because of a sprained ankle, gave UAA a huge lift off the bench with 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-2 FT).
UAA returns to action Wednesday with its first GNAC road game, a 7 p.m. tip at arch-rival Alaska Fairbanks.
