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Seawolves earn gutsy 2OT win at WWU, 108-105

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves earn gutsy 2OT win at WWU, 108-105

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Guards Suki Wiggs and Brian McGill combined for 64 points Thursday to help Alaska Anchorage prevail 108-105 in double overtime against Western Washington in a classic Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Whatcom Pavilion.

The Seawolves (17-7, 10-3 GNAC) got 33 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals from Wiggs, while fellow junior Corey Hammell was clutch in the extra periods, finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

The Vikings (14-8, 8-5) got a game-high 37 points and five assists from forward Kyle Impero, and Jeffrey Parker added 25 points, including a three-pointer to force the second overtime.

UAA's victory helps it keep pace in a second-place tie with Seattle Pacific in the GNAC standings, while giving the Seawolves the regular-season sweep of WWU for the second straight year.

McGill topped the 30 barrier for the second time in his career with 31 points. The senior shot 7 of 18 from the field but was 2 of 4 from long range and broke UAA's old single-game free-throw percentage record for the second time in a month, making all 15 of his charities.

UAA led 40-35 at halftime and continued to stretch its advantage, going up 70-53 on two Wiggs free throws with just 6:25 remaining.

The Vikings used an old-fashioned three-point play by Parker to gain some momentum, however, and sliced it quickly to 71-63 on Impero's layup at the 3:40 mark. Wiggs appeared to cement the victory with a straight-away trey with 40 seconds left for a 78-70 lead, and McGill made it 81-75 with two free throws at the 12-second mark.

Impero drilled a three-pointer to keep it alive for the Vikings, and Wiggs was fouled with 9 seconds on the clock. The GNAC's leading scorer missed both charities, though, and was whistled for fouling Impero on a three-pointer with 3.4 showing. Impero missed the first and made the next two, leading to a foul on McGill. After McGill swished both to make it 83-80, Wiggs was whistled for another foul as Impero heaved the ball from midcourt. This time, the 6-4 senior drilled all three with 0.3 on the clock to send it to overtime.

With WWU leading 89-88 late in the extra session, Wiggs penetrated and found Hammell for a layup and three-point play with 37 seconds left. Wiggs followed by swatting Impero's layup on the other end, and McGill gave UAA a 93-89 lead with two more free throws. Impero came to his team's rescue again, nailing a long three with 19 seconds left, and – following two more McGill charities – dished to Parker for the tying trey with 6 seconds on the clock. Wiggs missed a 17-footer at the buzzer to force another five minutes.

The teams traded baskets and free throws until Wiggs's driving layup earned the fourth tie of the second OT at 103-103 with 1:02 left. After WWU's Trey Dreschel  gave his team the lead with a nice spin move inside, the Seawolves took their time on the next possession, running the shot clock under 10 seconds. Senior Christian Leckband nearly lost the ball but recovered and spotted Spencer Svejcar on the wing. Svejcar launched and got the shooter's roll as the ball rimmed around and in for a 106-105 advantage with 38 seconds to go. Impero's jumper was rebounded by Hammell on the other end, and the junior forward completed his 7-of-7 free-throw effort for the final score.

WWU got the ball with 26 seconds remaining, but the Vikings had trouble getting a good three-point attempt, and Ricardo Maxwell's heave went off the rim and into Wiggs's arms as time expired.

Svejcar finished with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Leckband had five points, six rebounds and no turnovers in a career-high 41 minutes. McGill added three steals and tied for the fifth-most minutes ever played by a Seawolf, logging 47.

UAA shot 39 of 45 (.867) from the stripe as the third-best free-throw percentage team in NCAA Div. II lived up to its reputation, and the Seawolves committed only 13 turnovers in the long contest.

Wiggs shot 8 of 22 from the field and 15 of 20 at the free-throw line to become the seventh player in Seawolf history with at least five 30-plus scoring efforts. The Idaho transfer also broke UAA's single-season record for free throws made, with his 176 already surpassing Jesse Jackson's old mark of 167 from 1986-87.

Meanwhile, McGill moved up three spots to No. 19 on UAA's all-time scoring list, now with 1,035 points in a Seawolf uniform.

The Seawolves stay on the road for two more games, beginning with Saturday's 6 p.m. AST tip at Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia. That game came be seen live online at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa.


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Players Mentioned

Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

F
6' 5"
Freshman
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Corey Hammell

#25 Corey Hammell

F
6' 6"
Junior
Spencer Svejcar

#20 Spencer Svejcar

G
6' 4"
Junior
Sekou

#2 Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs

G
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

6' 5"
Freshman
F
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Corey Hammell

#25 Corey Hammell

6' 6"
Junior
F
Spencer Svejcar

#20 Spencer Svejcar

6' 4"
Junior
G
Sekou

#2 Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs

6' 4"
Junior
G