ANCHORAGE – Senior guard Kyle Fossman scored 18 points for host Alaska Anchorage but 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific finished the game with an 18-6 run to earn an 88-76 men's basketball victory over the Seawolves on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (13-10, 6-6 GNAC) also got 14 points and nine assists from junior guard Travis Thompson as they lost despite setting a school record with just three team turnovers.
The Falcons (19-4, 10-2) were led by 20 points and seven rebounds from reserve guard Mitch Penner, while senior point guard David Downs had 19 points and six assists to help his team sweep the season series for the second straight year.
Despite the final score, the game was incredibly close through the first 38 minutes, featuring nine ties and 10 lead changes. SPU's 43-36 halftime advantage was quickly erased as UAA used a 12-2 run to start the second half, and UAA took a 56-52 lead on a pair of Thompson free throws with 12 minutes remaining.
The Falcons answered with a 12-2 run of their own to go ahead 66-60, however UAA rallied again, forging a 68-68 deadlock on Boomer Blossom's three-pointer with 5:18 on the clock. After the teams traded baskets, Fossman was called for an intentional foul on Downs with 2:12 showing. Downs sank both free throws and then nailed a short jumper on the ensuing possession to begin the game-deciding surge.
SPU finished its run with a transition dunk by Patrick Simon and a free throw from Penner to make it 81-70 with 1:36 left. The Falcons shot 55 percent from the floor, including 12 of 23 (.522) from three-point range, while committing just eight turnovers of their own.
UAA also got 14 points and seven rebounds from senior guard Colton Lauwers and 13 points and eight rebounds from junior swingman Teancum Stafford.
The Seawolves are back in action Saturday when they host Montana State Billings (8-12, 4-8) in another Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at 7 p.m. AST.
NOTES: UAA broke the old mark of four turnovers in a game, set five times previously, including three times this season … Fossman moved up to No. 15 on UAA's career scoring list, now with 1,089 points, passing Michael Johnson (1,085 pts, 1987-89) … Fossman is also 15th in assists with 227 … Thompson rose three spots to No. 17 on the assists list with his season-high performance, giving him 215 for his career.
