ANCHORAGE - Taylor Rohde and Drew Robinson combined for 39 points and the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team used a school-record defensive effort in the second half to pull away for a 70-47 victory over Florida Tech on Saturday night in the AT&T Jamboree at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (7-3) got 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds from Rohde as they won their sixth straight game - the last five by 18 points or more.
The Panthers (8-3) were led by 16 points from point guard Simon Cummings, but the visitors from Melbourne, Fla., managed to shoot just 2 of 17 (11.8 percent) in the last 20 minutes. UAA outscored Florida Tech 30-12 over that stretch to mark the fewest points ever allowed by a Seawolf team in the second half, topping the previous record of 13 at Carver (Ga.) Bible College on Dec. 30, 1999.
While the Sunshine State Conference squad struggled, Robinson collected 14 of his career-high 18 points in the second half, shooting 7 of 11 overall and 2 of 4 from long range.
Junior guard Mario Gill scored all 11 of his points in the first half that featured six ties and 11 lead changes. In fact, the Panthers used a 6-0 run to take a 35-34 lead at the 2:12 mark when Demetrius Harvey stole the ball from Steve White and sailed in for a layup. But UAA answered with the next six points to close the half and began the second stanza with a 13-1 blitz.
Cummings would score on a third-chance opportunity with a short jumper at the 12:08 mark to make it 55-42, however that would be the Panthers' only second-half field goal until Ashlin Romero finished the scoring with a three-point with 43 seconds remaining.
White collected six points, three assists and a career-high seven rebounds, while Rohde grabbed a game-high nine boards to earn AT&T Player of the Game honors. Senior forward Casey Robinson led UAA with four assists.
The Seawolves improved to 33-7 all-time in the AT&T Jamboree, including a current streak of nine straight wins. UAA will close the 2010 event Sunday when it faces Walla Walla (0-15) at 5 p.m. at the WFSC. That game will be preceded by Florida Tech vs. Alaska Fairbanks (3-3) at 3 p.m.
