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Hammell helps Seawolves survive Cavs' upset bid, 77-75

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Hammell helps Seawolves survive Cavs' upset bid, 77-75

ANCHORAGE – Senior forward Corey Hammell posted a double-double and converted the game-deciding putback with 36 seconds left Saturday to help Alaska Anchorage escape with a 77-75 men's basketball victory over Concordia, Ore., at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Senior guard Suki Wiggs scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half for the Seawolves (13-5, 7-3 GNAC), who improved to 11-0 at home, while Hammell finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season.

The Cavaliers (7-10, 3-7) were led by 21 points and five assists from hot-shooting guard Jarrett Gray, who helped the visitors erase a 13-point deficit and nailed a game-tying three-pointer with 57 seconds remaining.

Following Gray's big shot, UAA got the ball to senior guard Spencer Svejcar, whose driving bank shot was grabbed in traffic by Hammell. The nation's third-leading offensive rebounder went up strong and got off a layup that tickled the rim before dropping through for a 74-72 lead.

Concordia committed a turnover on its next possession when Gray – who shot 7 of 9 from long range – whipped a pass over the head of teammate Drew Martin and out of bounds. After Wiggs made two free throws, the Cavaliers sliced it to 76-75 on Latrell Wilson's trey with 7.9 seconds remaining, and Wiggs headed back to the line with 6.8 on the clock.

Wiggs made the first and missed the second charity, and the Cavaliers got a good look on a game-tying attempt, but Martin's contested midrange jumper clanged off the rim at the buzzer.

Martin finished with 18 points (7-13 FG) and team-highs of eight rebounds and eight assists for the visitors from Portland, who are in their second year as NCAA Div. II and Great Northwest Athletic Conference members.

Hammell – who left the game briefly after banging his heel midway through the second half – returned to make multiple plays down the stretch, adding two assists and shooting 10 of 10 at the foul stripe.

“That was a tough one, but I'm going to do what I can to be out there and fight through it,” Hammell said in the postgame press conference. “It goes back to our senior leadership – we all want to win.”

Svejcar scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5 of 6 from long range, and senior center Connor Devine finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and five blocks. Devine has 19 blocks in the last four games as the Wasilla native has rocketed to No. 7 on UAA's single-season list with 44, putting him on pace for the school record (63, Serge Using, 1998-99).

Senior point guard Diante Mitchell had seven points and grabbed a game-best three steals, and UAA got a critical four points (2-2 FG) and four assists from reserve point guard Damien Fulp.

The victory pulls UAA even with Central Washington (12-4, 7-3) for second place in the GNAC standings at the halfway mark of the league campaign. The Wildcats lost 100-89 to league leader Western Washington (15-3, 9-1) on Saturday in Bellingham, Wash.

UAA hits the road for five of its next eight games, starting with Thursday's 6 p.m. AST clash against Saint Martin's (10-7, 5-5) in Lacey, Wash. That game and all GNAC contests can be seen live on gnac.tv.


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Players Mentioned

Damien Fulp

#RS Damien Fulp

G
6' 1"
Freshman
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
Connor Devine

#30 Connor Devine

F/C
6' 10"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Damien Fulp

#RS Damien Fulp

6' 1"
Freshman
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
Connor Devine

#30 Connor Devine

6' 10"
Senior
F/C