Wildcats shoot down Seawolf men, 76-65

ELLENSBURG, Wash. ? An early lead and an impressive offensive performance from senior center Jeremiah Trueman were not enough Thursday as Alaska Anchorage fell victim to Central Washington, 76-65, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Seawolves (13-13, 7-6 GNAC) got 27 points from Trueman and 11 from sophomore guard Lonnie Ridgeway as the defending league champions were officially eliminated from this year's title race.

The Wildcats (16-5, 10-3), meanwhile, were led by guard Colton Monti, who scored 27 points on 8-of-12 three-point shooting. CWU was outshot 51 percent to 39 percent by UAA, but the home team posted a 13-6 advantage in three-pointers, while committing only six turnovers.

The win brought the Wildcats ? ranked No. 4 in the West Region ? into a second-place tie with Western Washington in the GNAC standings, just half a game behind Seattle Pacific. CWU also avenged its 90-78 January loss to UAA in Anchorage.

The Seawolves, coming off a road win over WWU, started strong again, earning a 14-7 lead on a Ridgeway jumper at the 12:27 mark. Monti would heat up from there, however, nailing 5 of 6 treys in the first half to give the Wildcats a 40-29 lead at the break.

Trueman's hot shooting ? 9 of 10 overall, 8 of 8 free throws ? kept UAA within reach throughout the second half, but never closer than a 45-38 deficit with just over 16 minutes left.

Ridgeway posted 5-of-7 shooting numbers, while guards Kenny Barker and Kevin White tallied nine points apiece for UAA. Barker ? who entered as the GNAC's second-leading scorer (21.1 ppg) in league games ? was held under double figures for the first time in 13 contests. Barker did dish a game-high six assists, while White had four.

The Seawolves will finish their road campaign Saturday when they face Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho (5 p.m. AST).

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Players Mentioned

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

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

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

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