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Bench boosts 'Wolves past 'Jackets on road

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Bench boosts 'Wolves past 'Jackets on road

BILLINGS, Mont. – Junior guard Dom Hunter scored a career-high 22 points and dished four assists Saturday to help the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team pull away late for a 70-62 win over Montana State Billings at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

The Seawolves (9-8, 5-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 14 points and three assists from senior guard Travis Thompson in a game that featured 10 ties and 22 lead changes.

The Yellowjackets (4-14, 2-6) were led by 19 points from guard Jace Anderson and 17 points, six rebounds and five assists from swingman Momir Gataric.

MSU Billings forged its largest lead at 20-14 midway through the first half and took a 36-35 lead into the break despite a big first half from Hunter, who had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

The game stayed tight throughout the second half before UAA got a three-pointer from Christian Leckband to take a 58-56 lead with 5:40 remaining. Hunter followed shortly with a layup, and the lead stretched to 66-60 on Boomer Blossom's three-pointer from the wing at the 2:23 mark.

The Yellowjackets could never make it a one-possession affair again, with Hunter and Leckband clinching it from the foul stripe in the finale minute.

Hunter, a transfer from Eastern Arizona College, shot 8 of 13 from the field (3 of 7 on three-pointers) in 30 minutes off the bench. Another reserve, freshman forward Sjur Berg, came up big with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and a team-high nine rebounds.

Leckband finished with eight points and five rebounds to help the UAA bench outscore its counterparts 41-12. The hosts committed only 11 giveaways, but the Seawolves turned those into an impressive 18-0 advantage on points-off-turnovers.

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center next week to complete the first half of GNAC play with home games against Central Washington (Thur., Jan. 22) and Northwest Nazarene (Sat., Jan. 24). Tip-off both nights is set for 7:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Boomer Blossom

#RS Boomer Blossom

G
6' 2"
Freshman
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

F
6' 5"
Freshman
Sjur Berg

#2 Sjur Berg

F
6' 7"
Freshman
Dom Hunter

#13 Dom Hunter

G
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Boomer Blossom

#RS Boomer Blossom

6' 2"
Freshman
G
Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

6' 5"
Freshman
F
Sjur Berg

#2 Sjur Berg

6' 7"
Freshman
F
Dom Hunter

#13 Dom Hunter

6' 0"
Junior
G