THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF MEN'S BASKETBALL...
Thursday, Jan. 3 — 7:30 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Western Oregon (9-2, 2-0 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (5-5, 0-2 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Jan. 5 — 5:15 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Concordia-Portland (5-5, 0-2 GNAC [1/3 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
LIVE VIDEO & STATS: gnac.tv or portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates & final scores.
TICKETS: $10 at the door, online at alaskaairlinescenter.com, or by calling 907-786-1562 ... discounts apply for UAA staff/faculty, alumni, senior (60+), youth (3-18) and military ... groups of 10 or more can purchase in bulk for $6 per ticket ... UAA students free with valid WolfCard ... more information at GoSeawolves.com.
PROBABLE UAA STARTERS (2018-19 stats)
G—Jack Macdonald, 6-0, Jr. (9.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, .419 FG, .400 3FG, .750 FT)
G—Brennan Rymer, 6-0, So. (9.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.1 spg, .486 FG, .783 FT)
F—Tyler Brimhall, 6-5, Jr. (16.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, .466 FG, .413 3FG, .821 FT)
F—Niko Bevens, 6-6, Jr. (12.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, .454 FG, .378 3FG, .632 FT)
F—Sjur Berg, 6-7, Jr. (7.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .569 FG, .536 FT)
SCOUTING REPORT: Having earned home wins over Simon Fraser (72-58) and Western Washington (96-88, 2OT) in its GNAC home openers a month ago, two-time defending GNAC champ Western Oregon makes its league road debut Thursday in Anchorage ... with their only West Region loss thus far coming against regionally top-ranked UC San Diego (73-63), the Wolves are led by 6-6 Jr. F Riley Hawken (11.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, .353 3FG) and 6-7 Sr. F Kaleb Warner (10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .810 FT) ... fourth-year GNAC member Concordia-Portland began its GNAC campaign with early home losses to WWU (83-66) and SFU (81-79) ... with Thursday's game at UAF marking their first D-II opponent since Dec. 1, the Cavaliers are led by 6-3 Sr. G Jarrett Gray (14.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .390 3FG, .882 FT) and 6-6 Jr. G Dom Bradley (10.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .484 FG).
ALL-TIME VS. WOU: UAA leads 21-16 overall, 12-5 in Anchorage
Last: WOU 72-62 (1/27/18 at UAA)
Streak: WOU 4
Notes: UAA's four straight losses are its longest current streak against a GNAC opponent ... six of the last eight meetings have been decided by 10 points or less ... WOU has won eight of the last 10 after UAA won nine straight from 2010-14 ... UAA's last win came by an 81-73 score at home on Jan. 19, 2017 ... UAA leads 21-13 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) … first and only non-GNAC meeting came when programs were Pac West foes, with WOU winning 91-81, Jan. 28, 1999.
ALL-TIME VS. CU: UAA leads 5-3 overall, 3-2 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 62-57 (1/25/18 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 2
Notes: UAA has won five of the first six meetings as GNAC opponents ... the last four meetings have been decided by five points or less ... CU surprised UAA in non-conference meetings in the first men's basketball games played at the Alaska Airlines Center, winning 79-74 and 75-73, Nov. 7-8, 2014 – the year before the Cavs joined the GNAC.
SEAWOLVES FALL IN GNAC OPENERS: After finishing with a 5-3 mark in non-conference play, the Seawolves started their Great Northwest Athletic Conference season with an 89-74 road loss to Montana State Billings on Dec. 1 and a 68-67 loss at Alaska Fairbanks on Dec. 8 ... in Billings, Sr. C Brian Pearson led UAA with a season-high 17 points (7-9 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT) but the Seawolves were outshot .556 to .469 and outscored 21-10 from the free-throw line ... Jr. F Sjur Berg continued his recent offensive surge with 13 points (6-8 FG), while So. PG Brennan Rymer added 10 points (4-6 FG, 1-1 3FG) and a career-high-tying 6 rebounds as UAA saw a 3-game winning streak halted against MSUB ... at UAF, Rymer had 16 points (7-11) and 3 assists but the Nanooks made three free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining to claim just their second victory in the last 26 meetings between the in-state foes ... Berg continued his hot shooting with 12 points (6-9 FG) and 8 rebounds, while Jr. G/F Tyler Brimhall had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals in the setback.
TEAM NOTES: UAA ranks in the top 50 of the NCAA national stats in both assists per game (32nd, 17.9 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (48th, 1.36) ... the Seawolves are seeking the program's 14th straight winning season and the 36th in 42 years ... the Seawolves have earned eight straight winning GNAC records and qualified for the GNAC Tournament every year since its founding in 2011.
PAW PRINTS: Jr. G/F Tyler Brimhall was UAA's lone representative on the Preseason All-GNAC Team and so far the North Idaho College transfer has not disappointed, ranking 4th in the league in scoring (16.8 ppg), 5th in rebounding (7.1 rpg), 9th in FT% (.821) and 17th in 3FG% (.413) ... the Utah native has scored at least 23 points in five games thus far, while grabbing at least seven rebounds in seven of 10 contests ... UAA's other impact transfer, Jr. F Niko Bevens has tallied double digits in six of nine games, including a UAA season-high 28 points in the 83-79 road win over Hawaii Pacific ... Bevens' seven first-half treys against HPU were the most ever for a Seawolf before the break and his eight 3FGs in the victory tied for 7th on UAA's single-game list ... Bevens ranks 15th in scoring (12.8 ppg) and 4th in 3FGs per game (2.8), while playing a league-high 32.5 minutes per contest ... UAA's most experienced player, Sr. C Brian Pearson is 7th on UAA's career list for blocks (65) and 5th in blocks per game (0.8), needing just five more swats to move up to 6th in total blocks ... Pearson had his 3rd-best scoring effort in four seasons with 17 points (7-9 FG) in the loss at MSUB ... So. Brennan Rymer is showing improvement from his rookie season in all categories, averaging 9.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg and a team-high 3.5 apg ... the Aussie made the all-tournament team at the Seawolf Jamboree and has scored career highs – 19 vs. Lake Superior State and 20 vs. S.D. Mines – in two of the last five games ... Rymer holds GNAC ranks of 5th in assists and 11th in FT% (.783) ... after a slow start following a season away from basketball, Jr. F Sjur Berg has come on strong with .500-or-better shooting in the last seven games and double-figure scoring in the last four contests ... Berg had career-highs of 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-4 FT), 14 rebounds and 4 blocks in the Nov. 23 win over South Dakota Mines, and he has grabbed at least 5 rebounds over the last five games.
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 15th year at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (270-156) has led the Seawolves to 13 straight winning seasons, along with five NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the 2008 NCAA D-II Semifinals … the longest tenured coach in program history and in the GNAC, he became the first UAA basketball coach to reach 200 career victories when the Seawolves beat Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 10, 2015 … Osborne captured his first career GNAC and NABC West District coach-of-the-year awards in 2008 after becoming the second coach to lead UAA to three consecutive NCAA berths (2006-08), and in 2011-12 his Seawolves posted a 24-10 record to equal the 2nd-most victories in program history; Osborne's 2007-08 club holds that record with a 29-6 mark … before taking over the head job in 2004-05, the Texas native previously served 13 seasons (1991-04) as a UAA assistant, including 11 years as the top assistant … the Seawolves have won over 60 percent of their games with Osborne on the staff, claiming four conference titles and eight trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament ... Osborne is assisted by Ryan Orton (5th season) and Shane Rinner (7th season).
2018-19 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Tyler Brimhall
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Brennan Rymer
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team
