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Alaskans power men to rout of Warriors, 101-54

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Falcons edge Seawolves 73-72 in OT

ANCHORAGE – Junior forward Christian Leckband scored a career-high 19 points Saturday but a pair of last-second shots fell short for host Alaska Anchorage as Seattle Pacific escaped with a 73-72 overtime victory over the Seawolves in a critical Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (14-10, 10-4 GNAC) saw their 5-game winning streak come to an end despite erasing a 10-point second-half deficit, getting 13 points apiece from starting guards Brian McGill and Travis Thompson.

The Falcons (18-7, 10-5) were led by center Cory Hutsen's game-high 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting as the visitors pulled within a half-game of UAA in the race for second place in the GNAC. With its win, SPU sweeps the season series from UAA, taking the tiebreaker in a potential seeding deadlock for the league playoffs. The top two teams earn a first-round bye for the GNAC Tournament, set for Mar. 4-7 in Billings, Mont.

After UAA battled back from an early deficit, the Falcons used a 9-0 run to take a 39-31 halftime lead and went up by double figures on Hutsen's short hook shot to start the second half.

UAA answered with a huge spurt, however, completing a 21-4 run when McGill scored on a driving layup and finished a traditional three-point play with 12:37 remaining.

The Seawolves clung to a 60-55 lead with 5:16 left before the Falcons came back with another 9-0 run, taking the lead on a three-pointer from reserve forward Sam Simpson with 2:48 remaining. Thompson sank two free throws on UAA's next chance and made two more after Hutsen was called for traveling, tying it 64-64 with 25 seconds left. SPU's Mitch Penner missed a 15-foot jumper and UAA got the rebound with 3.8 seconds on the clock, but Derrick Fain's desperation three-pointer missed at the end of regulation.

Leckband put UAA ahead 66-65 with his final basket early in overtime, and Thompson gave UAA a 68-65 lead with two more free throws at the 2:58 mark. Penner answered with a traditional three-point play to tie and Hutsen converted another to give SPU the lead for good, 71-68, with 1:36 remaining.

Trailing 73-70 with the shot clock turned off, UAA guard Dom Hunter missed a long three-pointer that fell into the hands of senior teammate Boomer Blossom, whose gentle layup made it 73-72 with 11.1 left. UAA forced the Falcons into three separate inbounds plays with tough backcourt defense, and SPU guard Bryce Leavitt was called for a push-off with 6.2 seconds on the clock.

UAA tossed the inbounds pass long to Hunter, whose 17-footer bounced off the rim. Hunter corralled his own rebound but could not make an off-balance, guarded attempt at the buzzer.

Hunter finished with seven points and four rebounds, while senior guard Derrick Fain was the fourth Seawolf in double figures with 10 points. Thompson dished a team-high five assists for UAA despite battling foul trouble much of the day.

With its win, SPU joins UAA and league leader Western Oregon as first three teams to book their tickets for the league tourney in Billings.

The Seawolves have four regular-season games remaining, starting with a showdown at Central Washington on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. AST.


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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
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

G
6' 4"
Senior
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
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

6' 4"
Senior
G
Dom Hunter

#13 Dom Hunter

6' 0"
Junior
G