ANCHORAGE – Senior forward Niko Bevens set a school record with 8-of-9 three-point shooting to lead the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team to an 88-78 victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Friday night in the Armed Forces Classic at the Alaska Airlines Center.

A nationally televised audience on ESPNU saw the Seawolves (2-0) also get 15 points and a career-high five assists from sophomore guard Tobin Karlberg as the hosts shot 18 of 31 (.581) from three-point range.

The Bears (0-1), an NCAA Div. III program from New London, Conn., had six players score double figures, led by 14 points and six assists from starting guard Noah Baldez.

"Any time you shoot 18 for 31 on three-pointers, you'll take it," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne. "We're still a relatively new group and I think tonight was a good growing experience for us. Coast Guard is a very disciplined team that is difficult to defend, but our guys did a good job of defending after their hot start. Beyond the game, this was a terrific experience for our program this week and we're grateful to ESPN and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson for making this come to fruition."

After claiming a 25-18 lead midway through the first half, the Seawolves fell behind for the only time in the game when the Bears went on a 9-0 run, taking a 27-25 edge on a two free throws by J.T. Cox. UAA answered with a 24-11 surge over the remaining 8:16, however, with Bevens making 5 of 6 three-pointers by halftime.

Coast Guard sliced it to a two-possession game one five separate occasions in the second half before the Seawolves pulled away. Garrett Drummond scored a layup with 5:23 left to draw the visitors within 76-71, only to see the Seawolves answer with two free throws by Tyrus Hosley and a three-pointer from DeAndre Osuigwe.

The Seawolves put four players in double figures, with Bevens scoring all 24 of his points from beyond the line. Osuigwe finished with 13 points (3-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5-6 FT), five rebounds, three assists and no turnovers, while Hosley added 12 points (2-4 3FG, 2-2 FT) and five assists.

UAA's 18 team three-pointers were the seventh-most in program history against an NCAA program, while Bevens' eight treys tied for seventh on the Seawolves' individual single-game list. The former Montana transfer broke the previous school record for three-point percentage on at least six attempts, wiping away Adam Fitt-Chappell's 7-of-8 showing against Northwest Nazarene on Dec. 5, 2002. It also tied the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record as he became the fourth GNAC player in 19 years to shoot 8 of 9 from long range.

UAA continues its busy weekend Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Hawaii Pacific in an NCAA Div. II West Region matchup. Visit AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com for tickets.