LACEY, Wash. – Senior Kyle Fossman scored 27 points but 4th-seeded Alaska Anchorage ran into a hot-shooting opponent Wednesday as Western Oregon earned a 94-88 win over the Seawolves in the quarterfinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championships at Marcus Pavilion.
The Seawolves (17-13) also got 18 points and six rebounds from junior win g Teancum Stafford, 17 points from First Team All-GNAC guard Travis Thompson, and 12 points and five assists from point guard Brian McGill as their season came to a close.
The 5th-seeded Wolves (18-11) were powered by a career-high 30 points from guard Rodney Webster, who shot 12 of 18 from the field and 3 of 6 from long range. WOU, which came into the game with a season-high 11 three-pointers, exploded for a 13-of-26 showing, including 7 of 12 for guard Jordan Wiley, who finished with 24 points.
UAA led 19-10 early before WOU answered with a big surge to take a 44-38 halftime lead.
The Seawolves scored the first seven points after the break, and the game remained a one or two-possession affair until the late-going. Fossman forged a 73-73 tie on a layup with 5:21 remaining, but Webster came right back with a traditional three-point play, and Jordan Schreiber converted a rebound layup to make it 78-73.
Thompson delivered a three-point play of his own on UAA's next possession and the Seawolves had a chance to tie moments later, but Thompson's layup fell off the rim. With 2:31 left, Webster fed Schreiber for another layin to make it 80-76, and UAA would never get within one possession again.
WOU, which advances to play in Thursday's semifinals against top-seeded Seattle Pacific, snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series against UAA.
Fossman shot 10 of 18 from the field, including 6 of 11 three-pointers and five rebounds in his final game as a Seawolf. The Haines native finished his career as UAA's all-time three-point leader (257) and No. 9 on the all-time scoring list (1,237 pts).
It was also the final game for Stafford – who is graduating and will not return for this senior season – and senior guard Colton Lauwers (4 pts, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals).
Thompson, the No. 2 scorer in the GNAC, and McGill – the league's No. 2 assist man – will be the lone starters returning in 2014-15, when the Seawolves take the court in the brand-new Alaska Airlines Center.
