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Men look to bounce back at UAF

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Men look to bounce back at UAF

THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF BASKETBALL…

Saturday, Feb. 6 — 3 pm AST — Patty Center — Fairbanks, AK
Alaska Anchorage (12-6, 3-4 GNAC) at Alaska Fairbanks (6-11, 1-7 GNAC)

RADIO: Live on FM-93.7 KAFC

ONLINE VIDEO & AUDIO: Live videostream (free) at pennatlantic.com … online audio is also at GoSeawolves.com in the 'SplashZone' (subscription fee applies).

LIVE STATS: alaskananooks.com

UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2009-10 stats)
G—Donnie Lao, 6-3, 180, Jr. (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, .459 FG, .442 3FG, .939 FT)
G—Kevin White, 6-4, 200, Jr. (8.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, .400 3FG, .692 FT)
G—Brandon Walker, 6-3, 200, Jr. (14.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, .508 FG, .347 3FG, .742 FT)
F—Casey Robinson, 6-6, 235, Jr. (10.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, .466 FG, .402 3FG, .708 FT)
C—Liam Gibcus, 6-10, 235, Fr. (4.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .571 FG, .739 FT, 13.2 mpg)

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Alaska Fairbanks has lost six of seven to open the GNAC season, following a 3-game winning streak in December … the Nanooks, whose lone league win came against Saint Martin's at home (77-76, Jan. 23), are led by 6-0 Sr. PG Emmanuel Jenkins (17.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.4 apg, .363 3FG, .768 FT) and 6-2 Sr. SG Jon Moe (15.1 ppg, .296 3FG, .797 FT).

THE SERIES vs UAF: UAA leads 64-21 (27-16 in Fairbanks)
   Last Meeting: UAA 90, UAF 85 (1/31/09 at UAA)
   Streak: UAA 7 / Notes: UAF's last win was 76-73 in Fairbanks, Jan. 28, 2006 … UAA's current 7-game winning streak has come by an average margin of 14.0 points … UAA has won 3 straight in Fairbanks, including 81-52 last season … UAA leads 11-5 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) … UAA leads 34-9 since 1990 … teams have met at least twice each year since both becoming NCAA Div. II programs in 1977-78.

TEAM COMPARISONS    UAA      UAF
Overall Record      12-6    6-11
Conference Record    3-4     1-7
UAA Road/Opp. Home   3-3     3-5
Points per Game     71.8    79.9
Points Allowed/Gm   63.1    86.4
Rebounding Diff.    +8.4    -1.2
Assists per Game    17.1    12.3
Turnovers per Game  14.4    14.9
Steals per Game      5.9     7.9
Blocks per Game      1.8     3.3
FG%                 .462    .449
3-pt FG%            .380    .323
FT%                 .708    .699

ROUGH ROAD: The Seawolves ran into a pair of hot-shooting clubs as they lost 80-71 at nationally 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific and 79-74 at Northwest Nazarene in league road affairs, Jan. 28 & 30 … on Thursday, Jr. G Brandon Walker and Jr. F Casey Robinson combined for 41 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Falcons at Royal Brougham Pavilion … Walker finished with 22 points (9-13 FG) and 4 assists, playing all 40 minutes, and Robinson tallied a season-high 19 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 3FG) and 4 rebounds … the game was a matchup of the 1st- and 3rd-ranked teams in the NCAA Division II West Region, with the favored Falcons prevailing thanks to 58 percent overall shooting, including 9-19 3FG (.474) … So. G Steve White came off the bench to give UAA a spark in the second half, tying his career-high with 9 points (4-6 FG) … two nights later in Idaho, Jr. G Donnie Lao scored a career-high 21 points (9-15 FG, 3-7 3FG), but still suffered its third straight loss … Walker scored 12 points and Robinson scored 11 points (3-5 3FG), while the Crusaders shot 55 percent both overall and from 3FG range, plus 94 percent (16-17) at the FT line … White helped keep the Seawolves close in the second half with another 9-point (2-4 FG, 5-5 FT) effort.

TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC in five categories — scoring defense (63.1), 3FGs per game (8.0), rebound margin (+8.4), rebound defense (28.1) and defensive rebound pct. (.743) — and rank second in 3FG% (.380), FG% defense (.415) and assists per game (17.1) … in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA ranks in the top 50 in six categories — rebound margin (13th), assists per game (31st), scoring defense (31st), assist-turnover ratio (36th, 1.19), 3FGs per game (37th) and 3FG% (44th) … UAA's current 3-game losing streak is its longest since starting the 2008-09 season 0-5, while it's the first 3-game GNAC slide for the Seawolves since late in the 2005-06 campaign … UAA ended the non-conference season perfect in eight games against non-Division I competition, including 4-0 against fellow NCAA Division II foes … the Seawolves won their four Div. II games by an average of 24.3 points against Hawaii Pacific, Grand Canyon, Western New Mexico and Chaminade … in December, the Seawolves set a school record for points allowed in consecutive games (77), holding consecutive opponents to under 40 points for the first time in program history with the GCU (67-38) and WNMU (69-39) wins; the previous mark of 81 points allowed was set by UAA's Final 4 team two years ago (38 at Seattle; 43 at MSUB) … including the 53-point effort against Chaminade, UAA also matched the record for points allowed in three consecutive games (130) … UAA has now produced three of the top eight first-half defensive efforts in school history this season, with seven points allowed at American Sports University (school record), 10 against GCU and 15 against WNMU … in November, the Seawolves set new school marks vs. Div. I opponents with 19 rebounds allowed and .750 3FG shooting against Nicholls State in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.

'WOLF BITES: Jr. G Brandon Walker has scored double digits in 14 of the last 16 games after tallying 22- and 12-point efforts last week … in the GNAC stats, Walker ranks 10th in scoring (14.5 ppg), 14th in assists (2.7 apg), 15th in FG% (.508) … he also plays the second-most minutes in the league at 34.2 per game … on UAA's career 3FG% list, Walker ranks 14th at .392, while he is 20th in overall FG% (.488) … the Californian was the 2009 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout's 2nd-leading scorer, tallying 69 points in three games … Jr. G Kevin White has earned starting assignments in 45 of the last 46 games … the Aussie ranks 10th in career 3FG% at .423 and 11th in 3FGs made (124) on the all-time UAA list … White currently holds GNAC ranks of 12th in assists (2.9), 4th in assist/turnover ratio (1.9) and 13th in 3FG% (.400) … Jr. G Donnie Lao paces the GNAC in FT% (.939 [33-35]) despite not shooting from the line at all last week … Lao is also 4th in 3FG% (.442) … Jr. F Casey Robinson is UAA's 2nd-leading scorer (10.8 ppg) and holds GNAC ranks of 5th in 3FGs per game (2.2) and 12th in 3FG% (.402) … in GNAC-only play, Robinson is leading the Seawolves with 13.3 ppg … Jr. F Nick Pacitti has snagged an impressive 103 rebounds in the last 11 games (9.4 rpg) after getting just 29 rebounds in the first seven contests (4.1 rpg) … in GNAC-only play, Pacitti ranks 3rd in the league with 8.7 rpg … So. G Steve White found his scoring touch last week, twice equaling his previous career high of 9 points at SPU and NNU … the Aussie had entered the game with an average of 2.4 ppg in his first 14 outings.

THE FIRST CENTURY: With the Chaminade win, 6th-year coach Rusty Osborne became the fourth Seawolf mentor to achieve 100 career victories … Osborne needs four more wins to catch Ron Abegglen (109, 1986-91) for No. 3 on the UAA coaching victories list.

GNAC RULES THE WEST: Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams posted a combined .753 winning percentage (73-24) during the non-conference portion of its schedule — the best percentage in the 9-year history of the conference … GNAC teams finished 46-14 in West Region-counting contests, including 26-9 against the Pac West, 7-0 against the CCAA, and 13-5 vs. teams outside the region that count as regional contests … the previous best percentage was .707 during the 2005-06 season, when nine of the conference's 10 teams posted winning records and the 10th team finished .500; the league was awarded a record five post-season berths that season.

BLANDFORD ON BOARD: With only eight active players at the moment, true Fr. G Jesse Blandford will suit up for games and travel with the team until further notice … head coach Rusty Osborne said he still intends to use a redshirt season for Blandford this year, meaning the Nome product would play only in case of emergencies.

INJURY REPORT: The Seawolves got bad news just before the New Year when it was learned Jr. G Drew Robinson would be out 4-8 weeks with a stress fracture in his foot … Robinson currently paces the Seawolves with 4.2 assists per game … the Salt Lake CC transfer has UAA's top two assist totals thus far with seven against GCU and Chaminade.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Seawolves dropped five spots to No. 8 in the second NCAA Division II West Region rankings, released Feb. 3 … those rankings – compiled by the NCAA for all eight Division II regions – are the lone determining factor for NCAA Tournament qualification, including the opportunity to host the regional tournament … they will be released every Wednesday through Mar. 3, leading to the announcement of the playoff field on Mar. 7 … the rankings consider only games against Div. II competition and put an added emphasis on games against in-region opponents.

NCAA Div. II West Region
Men's Basketball Rankings
Feb. 3, 2010
Rk  Team                vs DII vs West  Conf.
 1. Seattle Pacific       15-2    15-2  GNAC
 2. Western Washington    16-3    15-2  GNAC
 3. CS San Bernardino     11-2    11-2  CCAA
 4. Humboldt State        14-4    14-4  CCAA
 5. Dixie State           12-4    12-4  PWC
 6. Cal Poly Pomona        9-4     9-4  CCAA
 7. BYU-Hawaii             8-4     6-4  PWC
 8. Alaska Anchorage       7-4     7-4  GNAC
 9. Central Washington     9-5     9-4  GNAC
10. Northwest Nazarene     8-5     8-5  GNAC
(D-II & West Region records as of Jan. 27)
(Next poll: Feb. 3)

PRESEASON PREDCITIONS: UAA was picked to finish fourth in the 9th annual GNAC preseason coaches' poll, released Oct. 28:

Pl Team (1st-pl. votes)   08-09 Recs.  Pts  '09 Finish
1. Seattle Pacific (4)    19-10, 11-5  76   3rd
2. Western Washington (4) 21-6, 13-3   72   1st
3. Central Washington (1) 18-7, 12-4   59   2nd
4. Alaska Anchorage       15-14, 9-7   53   5th
5. Montana St. Billings   10-17, 5-11  52   6th-t
6. Northwest Nazarene     14-13, 5-11  39   6th-t
7. Alaska Fairbanks       6-19, 3-13   22   9th
8. Saint Martin's         22-8, 10-6   21   4th
9. Western Oregon         10-17, 4-12  13   8th


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Players Mentioned

Kevin White

#1 Kevin White

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Casey Robinson

#44 Casey Robinson

F
6' 6"
Junior
Brandon Walker

#22 Brandon Walker

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Steve White

#14 Steve White

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Jesse Blandford

#21 Jesse Blandford

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Liam Gibcus

#32 Liam Gibcus

F/C
6' 10"
Freshman
Donnie Lao

#30 Donnie Lao

G
6' 3"
Junior
Nick Pacitti

#34 Nick Pacitti

F
6' 6"
Junior
Drew Robinson

#11 Drew Robinson

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Kevin White

#1 Kevin White

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Casey Robinson

#44 Casey Robinson

6' 6"
Junior
F
Brandon Walker

#22 Brandon Walker

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Steve White

#14 Steve White

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Jesse Blandford

#21 Jesse Blandford

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Liam Gibcus

#32 Liam Gibcus

6' 10"
Freshman
F/C
Donnie Lao

#30 Donnie Lao

6' 3"
Junior
G
Nick Pacitti

#34 Nick Pacitti

6' 6"
Junior
F
Drew Robinson

#11 Drew Robinson

6' 1"
Junior
G