Scoreboard

Crusaders edge Seawolf men, 78-76

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Crusaders edge Seawolf men, 78-76

ANCHORAGE – Alaska Anchorage's Casey Robinson scored a game-high 26 points, but his three-point try at the buzzer went awry Thursday as Northwest Nazarene escaped with a 78-76 men's basketball victory at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

UAA (16-10, 7-8 GNAC) also got 19 points from junior guard Brandon Walker, but the Seawolves could not overcome the combination of their own poor free-throw shooting and red-hot field-goal shooting by the Crusaders.

NNU (15-11, 7-8) was led by 21 points, five rebounds and five steals from junior guard Drew Eisinger, who nailed 5 of 6 three-pointers. The Crusaders finished 60.5 percent from the field (26-43), 58.8 percent from long range (10-17) and missed only two free throws (16-18, .889) to sweep the Seawolves for the second straight season.

The Crusaders, from Nampa, Idaho, took a seemingly commanding 45-31 lead into the locker room after shooting 69 percent in the first half, but the Seawolves wasted no time making a comeback.

Trailing 51-40, the Seawolves went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at the 12-minute mark. UAA then took a 57-53 lead when Robinson (8-16 FG, 6-14 3FG, 4-5 FT) made all three free throws after a foul beyond the arc with 11:26 remaining.

A few minutes later, sophomore forward Aaron Stevens inspired the crowd with a steal and breakaway slam dunk for a 63-60 lead, but the momentum would not hold.

The Crusaders responded with a 10-2 spurt of their own, highlighted by two treys from Eisinger.

The Seawolves had several chances to slice into the deficit, but they made just 4 of 11 free throws and committed two turnovers in the final two minutes. Despite those numbers, UAA still had a chance to tie or win when the Crusaders knocked the rebound out of bounds on Kevin White's purposeful free-throw miss with 3.8 seconds on the clock. UAA got the ball inbounds to Robinson, who was forced to take a fall-away attempt from the corner that was never online.

The loss deals another blow to the playoff chances of the Seawolves, who entered the game ranked No. 9 in the NCAA Div. II West Region. The region's top eight teams make the NCAA Tournament, but the Seawolves could not take advantage of an upset home loss by No. 8 Central Washington earlier in the evening.

The Seawolves still have a chance to even their Great Northwest Athletic Conference record and improve their power rating with a win in the regular-season finale – Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against nationally 9th-ranked Seattle Pacific. The Falcons (22-4, 13-2) enter having already clinched the GNAC title and the probable No. 1 seed in next week's playoffs.
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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
Aaron Stevens

#42 Aaron Stevens

F
6' 8"
Sophomore

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
Aaron Stevens

#42 Aaron Stevens

6' 8"
Sophomore
F