Scoreboard

Men fall on buzzer-beater at UAF

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Men fall on buzzer-beater at UAF

FAIRBANKS – All five Alaska Anchorage starters scored double figures Thursday but Alaska Fairbanks forward Andrew Kelly banked in a short jumper at the buzzer to give the hosts a 70-68 victory in front of a packed Patty Center gymnasium.

The Seawolves (17-12, 10-8 GNAC) got 15 points apiece from guards Kyle Fossman and Travis Thompson as they saw a series-record 16-game win streak end against their rivals to the north.

The Nanooks (17-9, 12-6) were led by 18 points from senior guard Ronnie Baker, while Kelly finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds – including 10 on the offensive end – in the regular-season finale for both clubs.

With the result, UAF will be the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament in Lacey, Wash., and play No. 6 Montana State Billings in the quarterfinals. UAA will be the No. 4 seed and take on No. 5 Western Oregon on Wednesday, Mar. 5 at 1:15 p.m. AST.

Having not suffered a defeat in the series since 2006, the Seawolves took a pair of 12-point leads in the opening half, only to see their lead shaved to 31-29 at the break.

Leading 47-44, Colton Lauwers drained one of his four three-pointers, and Thompson followed with a layup to begin an 11-2 run. Fossman buried a three-pointer to increase the advantage to 63-50 with 7:47 to play, however the Seawolves would go cold from there. Consecutive layups by Kelly sliced UAA's lead to 65-62 with 2:30 on the clock, and guard Ronnie Baker gave UAF the lead with a driving layup at the 52-second mark.

Kelly blocked Brian McGill's layup attempt and Baker converted two free throws with 25 seconds remaining to make it a 68-65 game, leading to UAA's final offensive chance. Fossman missed a three-pointer from the corner, but Christian Leckband snagged one of just three offensive boards for UAA and fed Thompson, who drained a trey with 10.9 seconds showing.

Following a timeout, Baker drove the length of the floor and made a seemingly wild drive to the basket, finding Kelly with a pass at the last second for the game-winner in the lane.

Lauwers scored 14 points (4-6 3FG), while McGill and junior swingman Teancum Stafford had 10 points apiece in the loss.


Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Kyle Fossman

#24 Kyle Fossman

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Colton Lauwers

#23 Colton Lauwers

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
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
Colton Lauwers

#23 Colton Lauwers

6' 3"
Sophomore
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