ANCHORAGE ? Seniors Jeremiah Trueman and Kenny Barker combined for 39 points and the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team used clutch free-throw shooting Saturday to earn a 66-62 win over longtime rival Seattle Pacific at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (11-11, 5-4 GNAC) also got 10 points and a team-high six rebounds from sophomore guard Brandon Walker to avoid its first back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference home losses since Feb. 2005.
SPU (13-7, 6-3), ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Div. II West Region poll, was led by 16 points and seven rebounds from center Rafael Moreira, but the Falcons were hurt by 4-of-17 (.235) three-point shooting.
The Seawolves, who led for most of the night, overcame an incredibly rare 7-point possession by the Falcons that almost changed the tide midway through the second half.
With UAA ahead 43-42 and holding the ball, freshman point guard Steve White was stripped by SPU counterpart Chris Banchero, who drove in for a layup and was fouled hard by Kyle Doerr.
The Falcons were awarded an ?excessive contact' foul on the play, allowing Banchero to sink two free throws. SPU then retained possession and got a three-pointer from Jeff Downs to turn a one-point deficit into a 48-42 lead with 9:27 left.
But that would be SPU's largest advantage as UAA pulled back to a 52-52 deadlock on a pair of Barker free throws, then took the lead for good when sophomore guard Lonnie Ridgeway sank two more charities with 4:20 to play.
A Trueman layup would give UAA a 58-55 lead, and Ridgeway would make the play of the night a couple minutes later, slamming home a resounding put-back dunk on Barker's miss to make it 60-55 at the 1-minute mark and bring the crowd of 894 to its feet.
The Seawolves closed out the game from the free-throw line, where they made six of their last eight, including Trueman's clincher with 6 seconds left.
The No. 2 free-throw shooting team in Div. II, the Seawolves shot an impressive 19 of 21 (.905), including 6 of 6 by Barker.
Barker shot 6 of 11 from the field and ended with 19 points, six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Trueman, meanwhile, was tough inside, notching 20 points (7-11 FG, 6-7 FT) and four boards.
The Seawolves end their 4-game homestand Thursday when they take on Montana State Billings at the WFSC at 7:30 p.m.
