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Seawolves surge past 'Nooks in 2nd half

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves surge past 'Nooks in 2nd half

FAIRBANKS – Taylor Rohde had 16 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday as the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team earned a crucial victory in its final Great Northwest Athletic Conference road game with a 74-65 decision over Alaska Fairbanks at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (20-8, 12-5 GNAC), who are ranked No. 7 in the current NCAA Div. II West Regional poll, also got 15 points and seven rebounds from senior guard Brandon Walker , plus 11 points from senior forward Casey Robinson , who sparked a second-half surge that proved to be the difference.

The Nanooks (8-16, 5-12) were led by 18 points from senior forward Parrish West, but the leading scorer in Div. II was held 10 points under his average on 9-of-23 shooting.

UAA's win, combined with Western Washington's 84-70 loss to Seattle Pacific earlier in the evening in Bellingham, gives it sole possession of second place in the GNAC standings with one game remaining. The Seawolves finish the regular season with a 6:30 p.m. AST rematch Wednesday against UAF at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex in a game that will be regionally broadcast on Fox Sports Northwest. WWU and SPU, which are both one game behind UAA, finish Thursday with the Vikings at MSU Billings and the Falcons at Simon Fraser.

Tuesday's game was tight throughout the first half, with UAA taking a 34-33 edge into the locker room. The lead changed hands several times in the opening minutes of the second half, but after Brett Barkman's free throw gave the Nanooks a 47-46 lead at the 12:21 mark, the Seawolves would take charge.

Junior point guard Steve White started the surge with a driving layup, Robinson followed with a three-pointer from the corner, and White sank a 17-foot jumper to begin a 16-2 run over a 2-minute, 15-second span.

The Seawolves extended it to 66-52 on Rohde's layup with 7:42 remaining for their largest lead. UAF rallied with eight straight points of its own, however, before junior guard Lonnie Ridgeway slashed through the lane for a layup to stop the Nanooks' momentum. Rohde then scored the next four points on a put-back layup and two free throws to essentially seal the victory with 3 minutes to play.

Rohde shot 7 of 15 from the field and had his second-highest rebounding total as a Seawolf for his fourth double-double of the season. Robinson drained 3 of 9 three-pointers, and Ridgeway provided a big lift off the bench with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and three rebounds.

UAA outshot the home team 44.1 percent to 37.1 percent and held a 45-35 rebounding advantage.

The victory was UAA's 10th straight in the series and fifth straight over UAF at the Patty Center.

NOTES: Tuesday's victory gave UAA its 13th 20-win season in the program's 34-year history … Walker's 15 points gave him 1,138 for his career, surpassing Kemmy Burgess (1,136, 2003-06) for 10th place on UAA's career scoring list.
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Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

G
6' 3"
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
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

F/C
6' 9"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

6' 3"
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
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

6' 9"
Junior
F/C