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

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Mitchell lifts Seawolves in OT road thriller, 83-81

SEATTLE – Suki Wiggs scored a game-high 34 points and fellow senior Diante Mitchell made a the winning layup with 4.8 seconds remaining in overtime Saturday to lift Alaska Anchorage to an 83-81 men's basketball victory over Seattle Pacific at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

The Seawolves (15-5, 9-3 GNAC) got 16 points, five assists and two steals from Mitchell, plus 15 points and three assists from swingman Spencer Svejcar, as they overcame a 4-point deficit in the extra period and swept the season series for the first time since 1989-90.

The Falcons (9-11, 5-7) nearly completed a comeback of their own behind 29 points and 16 rebounds from forward Tony Miller, erasing a 34-24 halftime deficit and a 47-36 hole with 12:33 remaining.

After leading the entire way, UAA finally fell behind 59-58 with 3:47 left, and the lead would change hands five more times in the next two minutes. Wiggs converted an inside feed from Corey Hammell to put the Seawolves ahead 66-63 with 45 seconds to go, and Miller hit only one of two free throws on the other end.

UAA had a chance to seal it from the line, making 5 of 6 down the stretch – including 4 of 4 by Mitchell – but SPU got the ball on its own baseline, trailing 71-68 with 6.9 seconds left. After Miller had fouled out, Falcons' second-leading scorer Coleman Wooten drove baseline and dished to reserve guard Sharif Khan, who drained a corner three-pointer at the buzzer.

“They had a lot of momentum and the crowd was going crazy,” said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne. “It would have been easy to feel sorry for ourselves, but our guys picked themselves up and played with incredible poise in the overtime. I can't say enough about Diante's mental and physical toughness. I'm extremely proud of him and all of the guys tonight.”

Mitchell played a UAA season-high 44 minutes – leaving the game only briefly after taking a hard fall early in overtime – and committed only two of the Seawolves' impressively low seven turnovers, while making all eight of his free throws.

SPU's Joe Rasmussen gave the hosts a 79-75 edge with a three-pointer midway through overtime before Mitchell drove aggressively for a traditional three-point play. Following two big misses by Coleman at the foul line, Wiggs gave UAA another temporary lead with a short jumper in the lane with 26.8 seconds left.

SPU went up 81-80 when Wiggs fouled Falcons guard Gavin Long, who calmly swished to free throws with 11 seconds showing. Without calling their final remaining timeout, the Seawolves quickly inbounded to Mitchell, who drove the length of the court and banked in a short flip shot with 4.8 on the clock, drawing a foul from SPU's Nathan Streufert.

After Mitchell made his free throw, Falcons guard Olivier-Paul Betu raced the other way and had a wide-open layup roll around and off the rim at the buzzer. Along with a 61-59 thriller on New Year's Eve last season, Thursday's victory marks UAA's first consecutive wins at Brougham Pavilion since 1990 and 1991, when the teams played in the old Great Northwest Conference.

For Wiggs, it was a triumphant final homecoming as the former O'Dea High School star shot 13 of 27 from the floor, recording the ninth 30-plus scoring effort of his UAA career.

Senior forward Corey Hammell led the Seawolves with 11 rebounds, including a pair of big defensive boards in the final two minutes of overtime, and senior center Connor Devine fought through foul trouble to earn seven points (3-5 FG), four rebounds and two steals.

Svejcar kept up his hot shooting, hitting 5 of 9 overall and 3 of 5 from long range, while senior forward Travis Parrish delivered quality minutes off the bench with three points and two rebounds.

UAA won despite being outrebounded for the first time this season, 37-35, and being outshot .483 to .446 overall. The Seawolves were more efficient from long range, going 6 of 12 to SPU's 6 of 19.

Still trailing nationally ranked Western Washington by two games atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, the Seawolves get a chance to host the Vikings in their next game, Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center. The contest will be the second of a men's/women's double-header, with tip times set for 5:15 and 7:30 p.m. Call 907-786-1562 for Seawolf tickets.

NOTES: Playing in just his 52nd career game, Wiggs moved past Kyle Fossman (1,237 pts, 2010-14) and Brandon Walker (1,242 pts, 2008-11) on UAA's all-time scoring list, rising to No. 9 with 1,248 points … Wiggs joined Seawolf-Hall-of-Famers Jesse Jackson (16) and Jason Kaiser (13) as the only UAA players to score at least 30 points on nine occasions … also playing in his 52nd game as a Seawolf, Hammell moved into No. 7 on the career rebounding list with 532, surpassing Jim Hajdukovich (526, 1995-99).

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Players Mentioned

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

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