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Brandon Walker vs CWU 2011 GNAC finals

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#10 Central topples UAA in GNAC finals

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Alaska Anchorage's Brandon Walker and Lonnie Ridgeway scored 19 points apiece but nationally 10th-ranked Central Washington rode 25 points from guard Jamar Berry and a swarming defense to an 83-71 victory over the Seawolves in the championship game of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason tournament Friday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Seawolves (23-9), the No. 2 seed, also got 11 points and four rebounds from junior guard Mario Gill as they suffered their first double-digit loss since November.

UAA must now wait until Sunday's announcement (6 p.m. AST at NCAA.com) to find out if it has earned a trip to the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships, set for Mar. 11-14. The Seawolves entered the week as the region's 9th-ranked team but took major steps toward making the eight-team playoff field with wins over Saint Martin's on Monday and regionally 5th-ranked Seattle Pacific on Wednesday.

Central (26-3) – the No. 1 seed and top-ranked team in the region – also got 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from senior center Chris Sprinker as it earned the GNAC's automatic NCAA berth and probable home-court advantage throughout the regional tourney.

UAA came out hot, taking an early 26-18 lead behind the three-point shooting of Walker and the penetrating moves of Ridgeway, who tallied the third-most points of his three-year career on 8-of-10 shooting. But the Wildcats turned up the defensive pressure and began knocking down three-pointers of their own to take a 40-33 lead into halftime.

The Seawolves sliced their deficit to 49-46 on a Walker three-pointer at the 14:48 mark but could get no closer. UAA, which came in with a GNAC-low 12.2 turnovers per game, was forced into 18 giveaways on 13 Central steals, and the Wildcats' 30-17 advantage in points off turnovers mirrored the difference in the final margin.

Central also held UAA first-team all-conference center Taylor Rohde to a season-low four points as its perimeter pressure made it tough to feed the ball inside. The Seawolves were also without the services of starting forward Casey Robinson, who missed Monday's game and was limited to just nine minutes in Wednesday's victory over SPU with an ankle injury.

Senior Drew Robinson led the Seawolves with six assists as UAA shot an impressive 57 percent from the field despite the loss.

NOTES: Walker became the eighth player in Seawolf history to reached 1,200 career points, upping his total to 1,209 … UAA's last double-digit loss came on Nov. 25 against Division I Weber State (86-54) in the first round of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout … the result snapped a 4-game winning streak for the road team in the series ... UAA handed CWU its only loss at Nicholson this seaosn with a 98-93 double-overtime decision on Dec. 30 ... the game marked the third time this season that a UAA game has been broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
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Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

G
6' 3"
Freshman
Brandon Walker

#22 Brandon Walker

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Drew Robinson

#11 Drew Robinson

G
6' 1"
Junior
Mario Gill

#2 Mario Gill

G
6' 2"
Junior
Casey Robinson

#44 Casey Robinson

F
6' 6"
Senior
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

F/C
6' 9"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Lonnie Ridgeway

#RS Lonnie Ridgeway

6' 3"
Freshman
G
Brandon Walker

#22 Brandon Walker

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Drew Robinson

#11 Drew Robinson

6' 1"
Junior
G
Mario Gill

#2 Mario Gill

6' 2"
Junior
G
Casey Robinson

#44 Casey Robinson

6' 6"
Senior
F
Taylor Rohde

#34 Taylor Rohde

6' 9"
Junior
F/C