THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL ...
 
Tue., Feb. 18, 7 pm AST — Patty Center — Fairbanks, Alaska
Alaska Anchorage (16-11, 9-7 GNAC) at Alaska Fairbanks (10-14, 9-7 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 22, 5:15 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Montana State Billings (10-14, 5-11 GNAC [2/20 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE STATS: Tuesday at gnac.tv ... Saturday at goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
VIDEO: gnac.tv (both games)
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
TICKETS: AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com
 
JERSEY DAY: Children 8th grade and younger wearing their team jerseys get free admission to Saturday's game, along with a $5 companion ticket
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2019-20 stats)
G—Tyrus Hosley, 6-1, Sr. (11.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, .440 FG, .408 3FG, .875 FT)
G—Tobin Karlberg, 6-0, So. (12.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg, .496 FG, .496 3FG, .818 FT)
G—Jack Macdonald, 6-0, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, .491 FG, .495 3FG, .917 FT)
C—Oggie Pantovic, 6-7, Jr. (14.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, .565 FG, .769 FT)
F—Niko Bevens, 6-6, Sr. (12.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, .444 FG, .438 3FG, .913 FT)
 
SPLITTING THE LOGJAM: With four contests remaining for everyone in the league campaign, only two games separate second place (and a GNAC Tournament bye) from seventh place in the race for the six-team GNAC Tournament, set for Mar. 5-7 in Seattle ... Tuesday's UAA-UAF game will ­­– at least temporarily – snap a tie for fifth place and give the winner an inside track at a berth.
 
SCOUTING REPORTS: Alaska Fairbanks has dropped its last three home games and won its last two road games, remaining in the midst of the GNAC Tournament playoff hunt despite a 1-7 start to its season ... the Nanooks are led by the GNAC leading scorer, Shadeed Shabazz (25.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 3.8 spg, .338 3FG, .861 FT), along with Spencer Sweet (13.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.1 spg, .429 3FG) and Koby Huerta (8.3 ppg, 2.5 apg) ... Montana State Billings has lost seven of its last nine games to fall out of the GNAC Tournament race ... coming north with a 2-8 road record, the Yellowjackets are led by Brendan Howard (21.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, .517 FG, .391 3FG, .821 FT), Zharon Richmond (16.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg) and Tyler Green (15.2 ppg, 3.2 apg, .367 3FG, .897 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs. UAF: UAA leads 83-23 overall, 35-18 in Fairbanks
Last: UAA 105, UAF 86 (1/21/20 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 2
Notes: The UAA has won 26 of the last 28 meetings, with UAF's victories coming by a combined three points, both in Fairbanks ... UAF won 68-67 last season in Fairbanks ... 10 of the last 17 games have been decided by six points or less, or in overtime … UAA leads 30-7 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) … teams have met at least twice each year since both became NCAA Div. II programs in 1977-78.
 
vs. MSUB: UAA leads 46-33 overall, 31-6 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 81-80 (1/25/20 at MSUB)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: UAA has won seven of the last 11 meetings ... MSUB snapped a 4-game losing streak at the Alaska Airlines Center with a 67-56 win last year ... UAA leads 17-8 in GNAC regular-season meetings since MSUB joined the league in 2007-08 ... MSUB is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent … teams met at least twice per season each year between 1981-82 and 2000-01 as members of the Great Northwest and Pacific West conferences ... first meeting was in 1977-78 ... in 19 games from 1994-2001, teams combined to score 90-plus a total of 31 times ... in 27 games since teams resumed series in 2008, neither has scored more than 90 points.
 
WORKING OVERTIME: After a mere 43 years and 1,257 games, the Seawolf program has accomplished the rare feat of playing three straight overtime contests, coming out on the right side of thrillers last week against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center ... against NNU, Jr. C Oggie Pantovic had 26 points (11-15 FG, 2-4 3FG), a career-high 15 rebounds and 4 assists, along with the game-winning 3FG with 20 seconds left in OT ... Sr. G Tyrus Hosley picked up his first double-double with 13 points, 11 assists and no turnovers, and Sr. G Jack Macdonald tallied 13 points (5-10 FG, 3-6 3FG), 6 assists, 2 steals and a career-high-tying 5 rebounds as UAA posted the 6th-largest halftime comeback in program history, rallying from a 52-40 deficit ... on Saturday, Pantovic had 24 points (8-15 FG, 8-10 FT) and 15 rebounds, and Hosley delivered 18 points (6-11 FG, 3-6 3FG, 3-4 FT), including the tying 3FG with 6 seconds left in regulation and the winning 16-foot jumper with 1.2 seconds left in OT ... Sr. F Niko Bevens scored 9 points (4-8 FG) and 6 rebounds in a UAA season-high 41 minutes, So. G Tobin Karlberg grabbed 8 rebounds, and Sr. F Tyler Brimhall came off the bench with 7 points (3-5 FG), 3 rebounds and a key steal as UAA snapped Central's 5-game winning streak.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the GNAC in assists per game (18.1), assist/turnover ratio (1.6) and 3FGs per game (12.0), while ranking second in turnover margin (+2.3) and third in FT% (.771) and 3FG% (.400) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves are 9th in 3FGs per game, 6th in A/T ratio, 12th in assists per game, 24th in 3FG% and 28th in fewest turnovers per game (11.4) ... the 12.0 3FGs per game are easily on pace for the second-highest average in program history, trailing only the 2013-14 squad's 13.0 3FGs/gm ... the 19 three-pointers against UAF tied for the 5th-most in program history and the 3rd-most against a Div. II opponent, just ahead of the 18 treys against Coast Guard and in both Saint Martin's wins ... the Seawolves' 15 steals at MSU Billings were their most against a D-II foe since Dec. 30, 2009.
 
YOU'VE BEEN SERBED: Now with eight double-doubles and at least 21 points and 12 rebounds in his last four outings, Jr. C Oggie Pantovic was named GNAC Player of the Week for Feb. 10-16 after his big showings against NNU and CWU ... the Kovin, Serbia, native ranks 5th in the overall GNAC stats in rebounding (7.8 rpg), 6th in FG% (.565) and 12th in scoring (14.8 ppg), posting double figures in his last 15 contests ... in GNAC-only games, Pantovic's numbers are even more impressive at 17.6 ppg (4th) and 8.9 rpg (2nd) ... a transfer from Utah State-Eastern, his 33 points at Western Washington and 15 rebounds against NNU and CWU were the most for a Seawolf in those categories since Feb. 2017.
 
BALANCING ACT: The Seawolves have been noticably balanced this season, getting at least 6.5 points per game from seven players and at least 2.0 rebounds per game from eight players, with only one player averaging more than 25.2 minutes ... Sr. F Niko Bevens is No. 2 the GNAC and ranks 19th nationally with 3.4 3FGs  per game, along with league ranks of 22nd in scoring (12.9 ppg) and 8th in 3FG% (.438, 34th nationally) ... the Beaverton, Ore., native has scored double figures in 19 of the last 23 games, including 19 points in the OT win over Western Oregon and 23 in the victory at Saint Martin's ... Bevens broke UAA's single-game record for 3FG% (min. 6 attempts) against Coast Guard, sinking 8 of 9 treys in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU ... with 173 treys in just 55 games, Bevens is already at 6th place on UAA's career 3FGs list, while his current streak of 34 games is the 3rd-longest by a Seawolf ... after averaging 3.4 ppg in a reserve role as a true freshman, So. G Tobin Karlberg has emerged as UAA's 3rd-leading scorer with 12.2 ppg, boosted by 26-of-47 3FG shooting the last eight games ... the former local Grace Christian HS star has tallied double figures in 18 games thus far, holding GNAC ranks of 2nd in 3FG% (.496), 7th in 3FGs per game (2.3), 5th in A/T ratio (2.6) and 18th in FG% (.496) ... as UAA's most experience player, Sr. G Jack Macdonald has shown a penchant for big games this year, including a career-high 25 points in the win over UAF; he also dished a career-high 8 assists (with no turnovers) in the victory over Sonoma State, and knocked down the winning 3FG at the buzzer to beat Western Oregon ... the CoSIDA Academic All-District performer is putting up 9.0 ppg, boosted by .495 3FG shooting ... in the GNAC stats, Macdonald ranks 3rd in 3FG%, 4th in A/T ratio (2.6) and 18th in assists (2.6 apg), while on UAA's career lists he is 14th in both in both 3FG% (.418) and FT% (.829) ... UAA has gotten big contributions from all five of its transfers, including the backcourt trio of Sr. G Tyrus Hosley, Jr. G DeAndre Osuigwe and Jr. G Amari Hale ... Hosley, from Northwest Christian, is the team's 4th-leading scorer at 11.0 ppg and holds GNAC top-20 ranks in assists (11th, 3.0 apg), A/T ratio (3rd, 2.7), 3FGs per game (11th, 2.0) and 3FG% (17th, .408), while his 3.5 rpg are 4th on the team ...  from State College of Florida, Osuigwe is 2nd in the GNAC with 4.3 assists per game and 7th with a 2.1 A/T ratio, ranking top 100 nationally in both categories ... Osuigwe has also proven one of the best-rebounding guards in Div. II, grabbing 12 boards against Western Oregon and ranking second on the team with 4.7 rpg ... Osuigwe's 5 steals at Saint Martin's were the most for a Seawolf since Suki Wiggs had 6 at NW Nazarene on Feb. 25, 2016, and he ranks 14th in the GNAC with 1.3 swipes per game ... Hale, from Eastern Arizona, has delivered 66 assists and committed just 20 turnovers in 468 minutes for the best A/T ratio (3.7) in the league.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 16th year at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (295-177) 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).
 
2019-20 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
NIKO BEVENS
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
GNAC All-Academic Team
TYLER BRIMHALL
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
TOBIN KARLBERG
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
JACK MACDONALD
GNAC All-Academic Team
OGGIE PANTOVIC
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
D2 Power Invitational All-Tournament Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Feb. 10-16