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'Wolves open with tough trio at Tip-Off Classic

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Bench boosts UAA in 80-78 thriller over #20 WOU

ANCHORAGE – Junior forward Christian Leckband led a second-half surge with 16 points Thursday as the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team earned its most impressive victory of the season, hanging on to beat 20th-ranked Western Oregon 80-78 in front of 1,910 fans at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (15-12, 11-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also used 16 points from starting guard Derrick Fain and 14 points from reserve guard Dom Hunter to snap a three-game losing skid and clinch the program's 10th straight winning season.

The Wolves (22-5, 14-3) – who clinched the outright GNAC title last week – got a game-high 20 points from guard Devon Alexander, plus 19 points and eight rebounds from forward Andy Avgi. Guard Julian Nichols added 14 points for the visitors, but his layup attempt rimmed out with 3 seconds left, and time ran out as Alexander grabbed the rebound.

Neither team led by double digits all night, with UAA facing its largest deficit at 31-22 with 7:43 left in the first half. Freshman forward Sjur Berg completed a three-point play to give UAA its first lead since the opening minute, 38-35, and the Seawolves took a 41-37 lead into the locker room.

Although Fain hit a short jumper to start the second half, the Wolves would keep their deficit within five points for the next nine minutes and eventually retook the lead, 58-57, on two Nichols free throws. Hunter tied it at 60 with one of his three three-pointers at the 9:44 mark, and the game was knotted three more times over the next five minutes.

Tied at 69, junior point guard Brian McGill found freshman center Kalidou Diouf with one of his eight assists, and Leckband drained a three-pointer with the shot clock running down to make it 74-69 with 2:55 left.

Senior guard Travis Thompson drove the lane for UAA's final bucket with 1:08 remaining, however Avgi answered seven seconds later to slice it to 80-76. Alexander then picked Thompson's pocket at midcourt and sailed in for a layup to account for the final basket with 50 seconds left.

UAA lost its last opportunity to extend the lead when McGill's running jump shot missed with 17 seconds on the clock, and WOU called timeout with 8.4 seconds to set up a final play. Nichols got a good look from close range but his attempt rimmed in and out. By the time the Wolves recovered the rebound in the corner, the final buzzer sounded.

Berg finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and six rebounds to help the Seawolf bench outscore their counterparts 45-14. Thompson finished with 11 points and four assists, moving within 26 points of No. 2 on UAA's career scoring list.

The Seawolves shot an impressive 55.8 percent from the field – including 12 of 22 three-pointers (.545) – and drained all 10 of their free throws to offset a 17-7 disadvantage in turnovers.

McGill added six points and committed just one turnover, and Diouf finished with six points on 3-of-3 shooting.

The victory moves UAA into a three-way tie for third place in the GNAC with Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene, with one game remaining for each team. The Seawolves close the regular season Saturday at 3:15 p.m. when they face Saint Martin's at the Alaska Airlines Center. Central Washington plays at last-place MSU Billings and Northwest Nazarene is at second-place Seattle Pacific on Saturday.





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Players Mentioned

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
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

G
6' 4"
Senior
Dom Hunter

#13 Dom Hunter

G
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

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
Derrick Fain

#14 Derrick Fain

6' 4"
Senior
G
Dom Hunter

#13 Dom Hunter

6' 0"
Junior
G