Scoreboard

Seawolves surge past Sharks in Fairbanks

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

'Wolves handle Clan in GNAC home opener, 108-86

ANCHORAGE (Jan. 1) – Junior point guard Brian McGill scored 28 points and freshman center Kalidou Diouf had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds Thursday to power Alaska Anchorage to a 108-86 victory over Simon Fraser in the first-ever Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (6-7, 2-1 GNAC) also got 15 points from senior guard Travis Thompson as they held the highest-scoring team in NCAA Div. II to a season-low point total.

The Clan (6-4, 1-1) were led by 19 points from freshman forward Patrick Simon but were outshot 54 percent to 39 percent and outrebounded 52-35 by the hosts.

Playing its trademark up-tempo style, Simon Fraser forged a 24-16 lead at the 10:22 mark of the first half before the Seawolves took control. UAA tied it 28-28 on a layup by Diouf and earned the lead for good when Travis Parrish rebounded a missed free throw and laid it in for a 31-30 edge with 6:23 showing.

Freshman forward Sjur Berg scored another rebound basket and McGill swished a three-pointer moments later, helping the Seawolves forge a 53-36 lead at the break with a 25-6 run to end the half.

UAA's lead reached as high as 81-58 midway through the second half before the Clan rallied within 13 on two occasions.

Junior guard Kevin Bowman and senior guard Derrick Fain scored 11 points apiece for UAA, which stayed unbeaten in 12 all-time meetings against the Clan, including a 9-0 mark since the Canadian school joined the GNAC in 2010.

McGill scored 22 of his points in the first half before running into foul trouble late. The all-conference performer from Clackamas, Ore., shot 10 of 18 from the floor, 7 of 9 from the free-throw line and added six points and four assists.

Meanwhile, Diouf kept up his amazing shooting pace, making 9 of 11 from the floor and becoming the first Seawolf in four seasons to snag 15 boards. It was the second double-double for the redshirt rookie from Germany, who entered the night shooting 68 percent – 10th-best in D-II.

The Seawolves also got nice efforts from junior forward Christian Leckband (9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, no turnovers), Berg (6 points, 3-5 FG, 8 rebounds) and senior guard Boomer Blossom (4 points, 2-2 FG, 5 assists, 1 turnover) as they committed a respectable 17 turnovers against the Clan's pressure defense.

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday for another league showdown against Western Washington (7-5, 0-2) at 7:30 p.m. AST.

NOTES: Thompson was 2 of 6 from three-point range and is now just one trey short of tying Kyle Fossman (257 three-pointers, 2010-14) for the career record at UAA … Diouf's rebounding total was the most for a Seawolf since former All-American Taylor Rohde's at 15 at Central Washington on Dec. 30, 2010 … McGill reached the 25-point plateau for the sixth time in his career and the third time in a GNAC game.

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Players Mentioned

Boomer Blossom

#RS Boomer Blossom

G
6' 2"
Freshman
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
Kalidou Diouf

#RS Kalidou Diouf

F/C
6' 8"
Freshman
Sjur Berg

#2 Sjur Berg

F
6' 7"
Freshman
Kevin Bowman

#30 Kevin Bowman

G
6' 1"
Junior
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

G
6' 4"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Boomer Blossom

#RS Boomer Blossom

6' 2"
Freshman
G
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
Kalidou Diouf

#RS Kalidou Diouf

6' 8"
Freshman
F/C
Sjur Berg

#2 Sjur Berg

6' 7"
Freshman
F
Kevin Bowman

#30 Kevin Bowman

6' 1"
Junior
G
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

6' 4"
Senior
G