THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL ...
 
Friday, Nov. 8 – Armed Forces Classic – Alaska Airlines Center ­– Anchorage, AK
5:30 pm: Washington vs. #16 Baylor, ESPN
8:00 pm: Coast Guard (0-0) at Alaska Anchorage (1-0), ESPNU
 
Saturday, Nov. 9 — Alaska/Hawaii Challenge — Alaska Airlines Center
2:15 pm: Chaminade (0-0) vs Alaska Fairbanks (0-0), auxiliary gymnasium
7:30 pm: Hawaii Pacific (0-0) at Alaska Anchorage, main arena
 
Sunday, Nov. 10 — Alaska/Hawaii Challenge — Alaska Airlines Center
2:15 pm: Hawaii Pacific vs Alaska Fairbanks, main arena
7:15 pm: Chaminade at Alaska Anchorage, main arena
 
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball (all games)
 
TV: Friday's Washington/Baylor game will air live on ESPN's flagship network, with the Coast Guard/UAA game slated for ESPNU.
 
ONLINE VIDEO: All games from the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge (with the exception of the Chaminade/UAF contest) will be streamed live at gnac.tv.
 
TICKETS: AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT: UAA returns to national TV for the first time since the 2017 Great Alaska Shootout and appears on an ESPN network for the first time since the mid-2000s when it faces Coast Guard in the Armed Forces Classic on Friday night ... the Seawolves quickly turn around to play their first games against fellow NCAA Div. II programs when they meet West Region rivals Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade on Saturday and Sunday in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge.
 
BRIEF SEASON PREVIEW: Looking to rebound from a 14-14 campaign, Alaska Anchorage returns three senior starters – all of whom averaged double-figure scoring as juniors – and a pair of seasoned sophomores in 2019-20 ... Sr. G/F Tyler Brimhall was 4th in the league in scoring and 7th in rebounding a year ago, and is one of two returning First Team All-GNAC performers ... Sr. F Niko Bevens and Sr. G Jack Macdonald bring a combined four seasons of NCAA Div. I and Div. II playing experience, while the Seawolves get a major infusion of talent with five high-level transfers.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2018-19 stats/notes)
G—Jack Macdonald, 6-0, Sr. (10.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, .447 FG, .393 3FG, .833 FT)
G—Tyrus Hosley, 6-1, Sr. (16.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, All-Cascade Conf. at Northwest Christian)
C—David Riley, 6-8, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg at Colorado Northwestern)
F—Tyler Brimhall, 6-5, Sr. (18.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, .471 FG, .423 3FG, .832 FT)
F—Niko Bevens, 6-6, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, .406 FG, .368 3FG, .778 FT)
 
2018-19 SEASON RECAP: The Seawolves posted a 14-14 overall record and tied for 6th place in the 11-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2018-19 ... UAA showed a penchant for close games, playing 18 contests within a 10-point spread and nine games within six points and posting wins over NCAA qualifier Western Oregon and playoff contender Northwest Nazarene ... the Seawolves used a 5-game winning streak in January to make a push for the postseason but fell short of qualifying for the GNAC Tournament on a tiebreaker ... individually, Tyler Brimhall was voted First Team All-GNAC, while Jack Macdonald was a Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 selection.
 
STRONG START: UAA got a career-high 18 points from So. G Tobin Karlberg and 17 points from Sr. F Tyler Brimhall to pace a 80-34 blowout of Portland Bible in the regular-season opener, Nov. 2 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the Seawolves also got 12 points (4-7 3FG), 4 assists and 2 steals from Sr. G Jack Macdonald as they outshot the visitors .484 to .298, allowing the third-fewest points in program history ... Jr. G DeAndre Osuigwe added 8 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, Jr. G Amari Hale had 8 points, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Jr. C Oggie Pantovic tallied 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the win.
 
THE SERIES...
vs. Coast Guard: First meeting
Notes: Friday's game will be UAA's first against a U.S. service academy and its first against an NCAA Div. III opponent since hosting Pacific Lutheran for a pair of games in December 1998 ... UAA is 3-0 against teams from Connecticut, beating Bridgeport at the 2005 Disney Tip-Off in Orlando and defeating Trinity in back-to-back home games in January 1982.
 
vs. HPU: UAA leads 11-6 overall, 3-1 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 83-79 (11-9-18 at Chaminade)
Notes: This marks the fifth straight year the teams will meet in a non-conference, regular-season game ... UAA's win last year snapped a 2-game skid against HPU, including a 65-51 Sharks victory in the last game in Anchorage, Nov. 10, 2017 ... first meeting was a 101-86 UAA road win, Jan. 21, 1980 in Honolulu.
 
vs. Chaminade: UAA leads 19-14 overall, 7-5 in Anchorage
Streak: CU 3
Last: CU 71, UAA 62 (11-10-18 at Chaminade)
Notes: This marks the fifth straight year the teams will meet in a non-conference, regular-season game ... CU won the last meeting in Anchorage, 71-65, Nov. 11, 2017 ... UAA's last win came by a 92-90 score, Nov. 13, 2015 in Fairbanks ... CU's current win streak matches its longest in series history ... series dates to UAA's first year of Div. II competition in 1977-78.
 
SCOUTING REPORTS: An NCAA Div. III program from New London, Conn., Coast Guard is coming off a 16-8 campaign, marking the Bears' most wins since 2007-08, and a 7-7 league record, matching their most NEWMAC wins ever ... CGA is led by 6-3 Sr. F Noah Baldez, who averaged 13.6 ppg (.543 FG) and claimed 2nd Team All-NEWMAC honors in 2018-19 ... Hawaii Pacific is looking to rebounds from a 7-20 campaign, including a 4-18 Pacific West Conference mark ... picked 10th in this year's Pac West preseason poll, the Sharks return their second-leading scorer in 6-5 Sr. F Ronald Blain (10.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) ... Chaminade is coming off a 23-8 campaign that saw the Honolulu school tie for third (16-6) in the Pac West and qualify for the NCAA Tournament ... picked for third in its league's preseason poll, the Silverswords are led by 6-6 Sr. G/F Tyler Cartaino (17.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, .590 FG), a returning First Team All-Pac West honoree.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves barely missed their 14th straight winning season and saw a string of eight straight winning GNAC records come to an end last year ... in 2018-19, UAA ranked in the top 30 of the NCAA national stats in assist/turnover ratio (26th, 1.40) and assists per game (20th, 17.1 apg) ... last year's Seawolves led the GNAC in assists per game and A/T ratio, and ranked 2nd in FT% (.747) and rebounding defense (32.2).
 
KILLER B's: The Seawolves got a predictably large impact in 2018-19 from its two players with Div. I experience, getting more than 31 points per game from the combo of Jr. Fs Tyler Brimhall (Idaho) and Niko Bevens (Montana) ... Brimhall, who transfered directly from North Idaho College, earned First Team All-GNAC honors, ranking 4th in the league in scoring (18.7 ppg) and 7th in rebounding (6.5 rpg), plus 4th in 3FGs per game (2.9), 5th in minutes per game (31.6), 10th in FT% (.832) and 9th in 3FG% (.423) ... sporting a team-high four double-doubles, the Utah native scored at least 21 points in 14 games, while grabbing at least seven rebounds in 14 of 28 contests ... Brimhall captured his first GNAC Player of the Week award for his home performances against CWU and NNU, tallying 43 points (12-21 FG, 8-11 3FG, 11-14 FT), 14 rebounds and 5 assists in the home sweep ... meanwhile, Bevens tallied double digits in 19 games, including 10 games with 15 points or more ... Bevens's season-high 28-point effort at Hawaii Pacific featured seven first-half treys – the most ever for a Seawolf before the break – and his eight total 3FGs in the victory tied for 7th on UAA's single-game list ... in the GNAC stats, he ranked 21st in scoring (12.5 ppg), 3rd in 3FGs per game (2.9, 53rd nationally) and 3rd in minutes per game (32.7).
 
A-PLUS AUSSIE: Now the most experienced player on the roster, Sr. G Jack Macdonald gives UAA three senior starters who averaged double digits last season ... Macdonald raised his scoring average from 8.7 to 10.7 ppg over the second half of the season, producing his best GNAC totals with 23 points (9-15 FG) in the home win over CWU, a career-high 24 points (7-9 FG, 6-7 3FG, 4-5 FT) in the win over UAF, 18 points (3-7 3FG, 9-10 FT) in the win over NNU and a team-high 17 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT) at WWU ... the Melbourne native also dished a career-high 6 assists against NNU and finished with GNAC ranks of 31st in scoring, 15th in assist-turnover ratio (2.0) and 9th in FT% (.833) ... a double-major (accounting and marketing) with a 3.79 overall GPA, Macdonald is also a star in the classroom, earning Google Cloud Academic All-District Team honors.
 
TRANSFER STATION: With just 11 active players on this year's roster, the Seawolves will rely heavily on all five of their transfers in 2019-20, with five coming from the JC ranks and the other from an NAIA program ... a former football star at Portland Central Catholic HS, Jr. G Amari Hale averaged 13.2 points and 4.3 assists last season at Eastern Arizona, where he helped his team to the NJCAA Region I title game ... Sr. G Tyrus Hosley was an All-Cascade Conference performer at Northwest Christian, where he played for the last two seasons ... the brother of former MSU Billings standout Antoine Hosley, Tyrus averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists at NCU last year, shooting .414 on 3FGs on .818 at the FT line ... another backcourt addition is Jr. G DeAndre Osuigwe, who played as a freshman at fellow D-II program Nyack, before earning All-Suncoast Conference honors last season at State College of Florida ... a graduate of prestigious IMG Academy in his hometown of Bradenton, Fla., Osuigwe averaged 11.2 ppg last year at SCF ... in the frontcourt, UAA features two big men who went head-to-head against one another in junior college, with Jr. F Oggie Pantovic and Jr. F David Riley ... originally from Serbia, Pantovic was a Second Team All-SWAC performer at Utah State-Eastern in 2018-19, averaging 12.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg and shooting .528 from the field ... from Farmington, N.M., Riley was a Second Team All-SWAC honoree as a freshman, and last year he averaged 9.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg and ranked second in the league with 1.3 blocks per contest.
 
LOCAL FLAVOR: The four Alaskans on this year's roster all hail from the Anchorage area, with So. G Tobin Karlberg (Grace Christian) bringing the most experience ... the 2018 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year, Karlberg saw action in all 28 games last season, averaging 3.4 ppg ... So. F Eric Jenkins (Dimond) returns from an injury redshirt campaign, while Fr. G Danilo Guzman (Anchorage Christian) will try to earn minutes in a crowded backcourt ... Fr. F/C Evan Hoosier (Dimond) will redshirt.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 16th year at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (280-166) has led the Seawolves to 14 straight seasons of .500-plus records, 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 in by Ryan Orton (6th season) and former Seawolf guard Kyle Fossman (1st season).
 
PICKED FOR 4TH: The Seawolves were predicted to finish 4th in the annual GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Oct. 22:
 
2019-20 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rk  Team (1st Place Votes)      Last Yr '18 GNAC (Pl.)  Pts.
 1. Western Washington (6)      15-15, 9-11 (t-6th)     112
 2. Seattle Pacific (5)         22-7, 16-4 (2nd)        107
 3. Simon Fraser                15-14, 9-11 (t-6th)      91
 4. Alaska Anchorage            14-14, 9-11 (t-6th)      90
 5. Montana State Billings      15-14, 10-10 (5th)       79
 6. Central Washington          11-17, 5-15 (10th)       63
 7. Northwest Nazarene          20-8, 14-6 (3rd)         59
 8. Western Oregon              22-11, 13-7 (4th)        56
 9. Concordia-Portland          11-17, 6-14 (9th)        25
10. Alaska Fairbanks            5-22, 2-18 (11th)        23
11. Saint Martin's              26-6, 17-3 (1st)         21
 
2019-20 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Niko Bevens
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Tyler Brimhall
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)