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Huge UAA comeback sinks Nanooks

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Huge UAA comeback sinks Nanooks

ANCHORAGE – Senior center Taylor Rohde scored 24 points and sophomore guards Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman came up big Saturday as the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team rallied back for a 68-62 victory over rival Alaska Fairbanks at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (5-2, 1-0 GNAC), ranked No. 22 in NCAA Div. II, overcame a 17-point deficit in the final 17 minutes to earn their fifth straight win overall and their 12th in a row against the Nanooks. Thompson finished with 15 points, a career-high 11 assists and no turnovers, while Fossman scored a career-high 19 points – all after halftime – and dished five assists.

The Nanooks (3-8, 0-1 GNAC) were led by 22 points from forward Stefan Tica, plus 10 points and nine rebounds from center Sergej Pucar in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

UAA, which was playing without three potential starters due to injury, fell behind at the outset and trailed 33-23 at halftime. UAF continued its hot offensive touch after the break, using an 8-0 run to take a 45-28 lead with 16:47 remaining.

The Seawolves turned it around at that point, however, when Fossman drained a three-pointer from the wing and UAF center Daniel Shaw was called for a foul simultaneously, giving the ball back to UAA. Fossman took the ensuing inbounds pass from Thompson and swished another trey from the exact same spot to cut six points off the Seawolf deficit in three seconds.

UAF held onto a 51-41 lead with 13 minutes left when guard Dominique Brinson (17 points, 6 rebounds) hit a three-pointer from the corner, but the visitors would not score again for over five minutes. The Seawolves took advantage of the drought with a 10-0 run to tie the game for the first time on a traditional three-point play by Thompson at the 9:22 mark.

UAA took its first lead, 55-53, on a short jumper by Rohde with 6:44 remaining, followed quickly by a layup from UAF's Nico Matthews.

The Seawolves executed perfectly on what would be the deciding play of the game on their next possession, converting an out-of-bounds play with one second on the shot clock. Senior point guard Steve White lobbed a cross-court pass to a wide-open Colton Lauwers, whose rainbow three-pointer beat the buzzer and started an 8-0 UAA surge.

Consecutive treys by Tica and Brinson sliced UAA's lead to 63-61 with 1:42 remaining, only to be answered by another three-pointer from Fossman, who shot 5 of 6 from long range and 7 of 8 overall in the second half. The Haines product also committed only one turnover in a career-high 31 minutes.

Leading 66-61, UAA survived consecutive three-point misses by Tica and Brinson on the next possession and clinched the win on a Rohde layup with 29 seconds left.

Rohde shot 11 of 21 from the field and tied with Pucar for a game-high nine rebounds. Lauwers chipped in six points off the bench, while White had five rebounds and four assists.

UAA has not lost to UAF since a 76-73 defeat in Fairbanks on Jan. 28, 2006 and has not lost at home in the series since a 73-70 setback on Feb. 22, 2003, stretching that particular win streak to eight games.

The Seawolves return briefly to non-conference action with a pair of home games Dec. 16-17 (7 p.m.) against Lincoln (Ill.) Christian, before restarting GNAC play at home Dec. 29 vs. defending GNAC champion Central Washington.

NOTES: The 10-point halftime comeback equaled the 5th-largest in program history and was the largest ever against UAF … in addition to all-league honorable-mention guard Mario Gill (hand), who has been out all season, the Seawolves were also missing second-leading scorer Abebe Demissie (calf strain) and fourth-leading scorer Lonnie Ridgeway (wrist) … true freshman forward Christian Leckband (hand) has also been sidelined all season … UAF was missing injured leading scorer Jarrett Miller … Rohde's 24 points were his second-highest output this year … Fossman's previous career-high came in the Dec. 2 win over Portland Bible … Thompson has totaled 20 assists in the last two games … UAA now leads the all-time series 69-21, including 40-5 in Anchorage.

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Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

G
6' 3"
Freshman
Steve White

#14 Steve White

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Kyle Fossman

#24 Kyle Fossman

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Mario Gill

#2 Mario Gill

G
6' 2"
Junior
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

F/C
6' 9"
Junior
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Abebe Demissie

#24 Abebe Demissie

F
6' 6"
Junior
Colton Lauwers

#23 Colton Lauwers

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

F
6' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

6' 3"
Freshman
G
Steve White

#14 Steve White

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Kyle Fossman

#24 Kyle Fossman

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Mario Gill

#2 Mario Gill

6' 2"
Junior
G
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

6' 9"
Junior
F/C
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Abebe Demissie

#24 Abebe Demissie

6' 6"
Junior
F
Colton Lauwers

#23 Colton Lauwers

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

6' 5"
Freshman
F