ANCHORAGE – Junior center Oggie Pantovic recorded career highs of 16 points and nine rebounds but the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team could not protect a late lead Friday, losing 83-80 to Michigan Tech in the Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (5-2) also got 11 points and five assists from junior guard Amari Hale as they fell despite shooting 30 of 58 (.517) from the field and 14 of 26 on three-pointers.

Forward Kyle Monroe scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and Tommy Lucca had 16 points on 4-of-4 three-point shooting and eight assists to power the Huskies (3-2) back from a 67-56 deficit with 10 minutes remaining.

"That was a high-level game, with some big-time plays from both teams," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne. "We put ourselves in good position to win, but couldn't come up with the stops we needed at the end. Hopefully this can be a learning experience for our guys and we can regroup for another tough game tomorrow."

Making their first trip to Anchorage, the Huskies came out hot, grabbing a 27-17 lead on a trey by Lucca with 6:48 on the clock. The Seawolves answered with a trey by Hale though, and surged ahead 41-37 at halftime behind nine points on 3-of-3 long-range shooting from senior Jack Macdonald.

UAA kept its advantage between four and 11 points throughout the second half until Monroe sliced it 72-69 on a three-pointer with 6:23 remaining. After Michigan Tech took a brief lead, the Seawolves tied it on a free throw by Tyler Brimhall and went ahead 80-76 on back-to-back inside baskets from Pantovic, who shot 8 of 11 from the floor.

The hosts would not score again, however, as the Huskies finished on a 7-0 run over the final 44 seconds. Lucca hit a pull-up three-pointer to make it 80-79, and Monroe stole the ball on UAA's next possession, leading to an Owen White layup with 12 seconds left.

The Seawolves got the ball over midcourt and called timeout with 9.1 seconds left. Senior forward Niko Bevens curled off a screen and got a good look at a 17-foot jumper, but his shot rimmed out and into the hands of DeAndre Osuigwe, whose desperation attempt was blocked and rebounded by White with three-tenths of a second remaining.

Bevens finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, while senior guard Tyrus Hosley added 11 points, making 3 of 6 from deep. Hale shot 4 of 7 (2-3 3FGs) from the field and committed just one turnover as the Eastern Arizona transfer scored double figures for the first time as a Seawolf, and Osuigwe collected nine points and six assists.

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to face Northern Michigan (3-2) in the final game of the Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic. For tickets, surf to AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com.