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#8 WOU outlasts Seawolves in Monmouth, 76-66

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#8 WOU outlasts Seawolves in Monmouth, 76-66

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Junior guard Suki Wiggs led a big second-half comeback Thursday but it was not enough as the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team saw its nine-game winning streak end with a 76-66 setback against No. 8 Western Oregon at the New P.E. Building.

The Seawolves (15-5, 8-1 GNAC) got 26 points from Wiggs and 17 points from senior guard Brian McGill to erase a 33-23 halftime deficit, only to see the hosts end the game with a 19-6 run.

The Wolves (15-2, 8-1) got a game-high 31 points from reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Year Andy Avgi, plus nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists from guard Julian Nichols, to pull into a first-place tie with UAA in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.

Western Oregon took control in the opening minute and extended its lead to 33-19 on Jordan Wiley's three-pointer at the 2:11 mark of the first half before McGill scored four straight points to end the stanza.

The hosts still held a 47-35 advantage with 13 minutes left when the Seawolves made their charge, starting with five straight points from McGill. Diante Mitchell hit a three-pointer to make it 51-47 with 9:32 to play, and Wiggs made a trey for a 55-55 tie two minutes later.

Spencer Svejcar completed a traditional three-point play to give the Seawolves their first lead since the opening moments at 58-57, and Wiggs followed with another layup.

The momentum would not last, however, as WOU's Devon Alexander drilled a corner three-pointer and Tanner Omlid scooped in a layup to retake the lead.

McGill's layup rolled off the rim on the other end and Avgi drilled a straight-away three-pointer – his only trey of the game – to give the Wolves a 65-60 edge at the 3:30 mark. The Seawolves got the deficit down to three on two more occasions but never again had a chance to tie, with the Wolves clinching it a the free throw line.

Svejcar finished with 16 points as he combined with Wiggs and McGill for 83 percent of the Seawolves' scoring.

Meanwhile, Wiggs scored 22 of his points in the second half and finished with nine rebounds to come one board shy of his sixth double-double. The Idaho transfer ran his school-record streak of 20-point efforts to 20 in a row, shooting 8 of 18 from the floor, 4 of 7 on threes and 6 of 6 at the foul stripe.

Junior forward Corey Hammell led the Seawolves with 10 rebounds as UAA suffered its first loss since Nov. 28 in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout against Div. I San Jose State.

UAA completes the first half of the GNAC schedule Saturday when they travel north on I-5 to face league newcomer Concordia (5-11, 3-6) at 6:30 p.m. AST in Portland.

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Players Mentioned

Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Corey Hammell

#25 Corey Hammell

F
6' 6"
Junior
Diante Mitchell

#11 Diante Mitchell

G
6' 1"
Junior
Spencer Svejcar

#20 Spencer Svejcar

G
6' 4"
Junior
Sekou

#2 Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs

G
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Corey Hammell

#25 Corey Hammell

6' 6"
Junior
F
Diante Mitchell

#11 Diante Mitchell

6' 1"
Junior
G
Spencer Svejcar

#20 Spencer Svejcar

6' 4"
Junior
G
Sekou

#2 Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs

6' 4"
Junior
G