ANCHORAGE ? Kenny Barker scored seven of his 38 points in the final 66 seconds to help the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team overcome a late Alaska Fairbanks charge and earn a 90-85 victory at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex on Saturday night.
UAA (10-10, 4-3 GNAC) also got nine rebounds, five assists and three steals from its senior star, who scored the most points for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference player this season and equaled the ninth-most in Seawolf history.
UAF (5-11, 2-5) got impressive offensive performances by guards Jon Moe and Emmanuel Jenkins, who combined for 47 points. Moe made 6 of 9 three-pointers for 25 points, while Jenkins finished with 22 points and eight assists.
The Seawolves took the lead midway through the first half and seemed to have the game under control at 82-71 when Barker swished a pair of free throws with 4:25 left.
But the Nanooks answered with a 10-0 spurt, capped by a driving layup from Moe, to pull within a point at the 1:27 mark.
After a UAA timeout, Barker shook free for straight-away midrange jumper and buried it with 1:06 showing, bringing a roar from the sellout crowd of 1,160.
Jenkins dribbled the ball off his leg on UAF's ensuing possession, and Barker followed with a pair of free throws to make it 86-81.
A pair of missed charities by Barker and Kevin White opened the door slightly for the Nanooks, who pulled within 88-85 on a Jenkins layup with 8 seconds left, but Barker iced the win from charity stripe with two more.
Senior center Jeremiah Trueman had 15 points and six rebounds, sophomore guard Brandon Walker scored 12 points despite foul trouble, and White finished with seven points, six assists, no turnovers, four rebounds and two steals for UAA.
The Seawolves also got a lift off the bench from freshman Steve White ? Kevin's younger brother ? who scored a career-best nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and dished three assists. Fellow reserve Lonnie Ridgeway had six points, four assists and a career-high eight rebounds.
The night belonged to Barker, however, as the former UAF player (2004-07) burned his old teammates with 10-of-14 marksmanship, including a 5-of-7 three-point display. The 6-3 guard also made 13 of 15 free throws to score the most points by a Seawolf since Peter Bullock had 40 on Jan. 26, 2002 (vs. Saint Martin's). Barker's total also matched Andre Boudreaux (Feb. 13, 1993) for the most a Seawolf has ever scored against the Nanooks.
UAA now leads the all-time series 64-21, having won seven straight overall and the last six in Anchorage.
The Seawolves continue a four-game homestand when they take on Western Washington at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5.
