Scoreboard

McGill inks first pro contract with Berlin club

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves overcome Saints for OT road win

LACEY, Wash. – Junior point guard Brian McGill scored nine of his 22 points in overtime Thursday to help lift the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team to a 75-68 victory over Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The Seawolves (3-4, 1-0 GNAC) also got 16 points and eight rebounds from freshman center Kalidou Diouf as they won for the sixth time in the last seven meetings with SMU.

The Saints (2-6, 0-1) were led by 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from guard Trey Ingram, but the rest of his teammates shot just 38 percent. UAA also won the rebounding battle, 43-34.

It was a close contest throughout, with neither team leading by more than seven points in regulation. The Seawolves overcame a five-point deficit midway through the first half and went into the locker room with a 28-25 lead when McGill beat the buzzer with a driving layup.

The Saints forged a 52-51 lead on Ryan Rogers's layup with 9:11 remaining before UAA senior guard Travis Thompson converted a steal and layup. UAA led 60-56 after Diouf converted two straight shots in the lane, but the lead would not hold up, with Tyler Copp's three-pointer knotting it 62-62 at the 1:19 mark.

After McGill found Diouf open in the lane for an easy layin with 44 seconds left, Saints forward Brent Counts answered with two free throws at the other end. McGill dribbled down the clock and missed a contested layup, and SMU guard Riley Carel heaved a desperation try from midcourt that bounced off the rim as the horn sounded the end of regulation.

McGill, a preseason All-GNAC selection, opened the extra session with a steal and layup, then drained a three-pointer on a feed from senior Derrick Fain. The Saints would manage only a pair of free throws until Trey Ingram's layup with four seconds left – long after UAA had clinched the game from the charity stripe.

McGill shot 7 of 15 from the field and made all seven of his free throws, while Diouf shot 6 of 14 from the field and 4 of 4 at the free-throw line. Freshman forward Nicho Burgard came off the bench with nine points and three steals, and junior forward Christian Leckband did all of his damage in the first half with eight points and five rebounds.

Thompson – the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year – wound up with just nine points on 4-of-9 shooting but collected three steals as well.

The Seawolves complete their road trip Saturday with a 1 p.m. matinee against Western Oregon (6-2, 1-0) in Monmouth, Ore.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

F
6' 5"
Freshman
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Kalidou Diouf

#RS Kalidou Diouf

F/C
6' 8"
Freshman
Nicho Burgard

#31 Nicho Burgard

F
6' 9"
Freshman
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

G
6' 4"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

6' 5"
Freshman
F
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Kalidou Diouf

#RS Kalidou Diouf

6' 8"
Freshman
F/C
Nicho Burgard

#31 Nicho Burgard

6' 9"
Freshman
F
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

6' 4"
Senior
G