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Veterans spark 96-89 comeback win at CWU

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Veterans spark 96-89 comeback win at CWU

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Junior guard Travis Thompson scored 31 points and senior guard Kyle Fossman drained a tie-breaking three-pointer with 2:19 to play Thursday as Alaska Anchorage earned a 96-89 men's basketball win over Central Washington at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Seawolves (14-11, 7-7 GNAC) got 21 points from Fossman – all on three-pointers – as they erased a 10-point halftime deficit and came back to split the season series with Central.

The Wildcats (11-10, 7-6) were led by 28 points, six rebounds and six assists from senior forward Mark McLaughlin. UAA held the nation's leading scorer to just 4-of-12 shooting from the field, with most of McLaughlin's damage coming at the free-throw line, where he was 18 of 20.

After getting 19 points from Thompson to stay within 54-44 at the half, UAA tightened up its defense and clawed within a single possession on a three-point play by Teancum Stafford (13 pts, 4 rebounds) with 15:12 left.

Wildcats guard Jordan Russell (23 pts) nailed consecutive treys to give his team a 72-63 lead, but UAA would respond with 13-0 run over the next four minutes. Stafford converted a short jumper to make it 73-72 with 9:23 to play, and Thompson snapped an 80-80 tie with his sixth and final three-pointer at the 4:18 mark.  

After McLaughlin knotted it 86-86 with a pair of free throws, UAA point guard Brian McGill (12 pts, 8 assists) found Fossman for what would prove to be the winning shot. A key offensive rebound by Stafford led to two McGill free throws with 39 seconds on the clock, however Russell nailed another three to slice it to 91-89 with 37 seconds left.

McGill then converted one of two free throws, allowing the Wildcats with a final chance to tie, but Thompson – who played much of the second half with four fouls – swiped the ball cleanly from Russell and was fouled with 18 seconds to play. The former local Dimond High star coolly drained both charities to clinch it, giving Thompson his fifth 30-plus performance of the season.

The Seawolves snapped a three-game losing streak and pulled within half a game of the Wildcats in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings as they also got a big effort from sophomore forward Christian Leckband, who had all seven of his points (3-5 FG) and added four rebounds during UAA's second-half surge.

UAA plays its final regular-season road game in the Lower 48 this season when it travels to Nampa, Idaho, for a Saturday showdown against Northwest Nazarene (5-16, 3-10). Action begins at 5 p.m. AST and can be heard live locally on FM-93.7 KAFC.

NOTES: UAA committed just three turnovers to tie the school record, set just seven days ago against Seattle Pacific at home … the 10-point halftime deficit was UAA's second-largest in a GNAC game, trailing only a 17-point comeback last year at MSU Billings … the 19 three-pointers equaled the third-highest single-game mark in program history and tied the record against a fellow Div. II opponent …  Thompson became just the sixth player in UAA history with at least five 30-point games, joining Jesse Jackson (16, 1985-87), Jason Kaiser (13, 1993-95), Jeff Martin (7, 1982-84), Peter Bullock (6, 2000-04) and Ryan Williams (5, 1995-97) … Thompson also became the 11th player with at least 10 performances of 25 points or more … on UAA's all-time scoring list, Fossman moved into 13th place with 1,126, passing Martin (1,109), while Thompson rose to 15th place with 1,098, passing Michael Johnson (1,085, 1987-89) and Vern Robateau (1,095, 1985-90) … Fossman moved his career total to 228 three-pointers to move within 10 of Jim Hajdukovich (238, 1995-99) for 2nd place, while Thompson now stands at 199 treys, passing Kemmy Burgess (195, 2003-04/05-06) for 4th place Thursday … Fossman also became the 16th Seawolf to suit up for at least 100 career games, and he joined Butch Lincoln (1992-97) in a tie for 10thh place on UAA's career wins list (69).

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Fossman

#24 Kyle Fossman

G
6' 0"
Freshman
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
Teancum Stafford

#30 Teancum Stafford

G
6' 5"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Kyle Fossman

#24 Kyle Fossman

6' 0"
Freshman
G
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
Teancum Stafford

#30 Teancum Stafford

6' 5"
Sophomore
G