MONMOUTH, Ore. – Junior center Oggie Pantovic scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team fell just short Thursday in an 85-84 loss to Western Oregon at the New P.E. Building.

The Seawolves (18-12, 11-8 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 18 points from Oregon native Niko Bevens as they saw a season-high four-game win streak come to an end.

The Wolves (18-7, 12-7) – ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Div. II West Region – were led by 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four assists from guard Dalven Brushier as the hosts moved into a three-way tie for third place and clinched a berth in next week's GNAC Tournament in Seattle.

"I thought we played well for the most part but we had some mental errors that cost us," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, whose program still clinched a GNAC Tournament bid with Concordia-Portland's 78-73 win over Alaska Fairbanks. "We turned the ball over too much in the second half and gave up too many offensive rebounds. Minus-14 in shot attempts is a lot to overcome. But we will build on this, get ready for Saturday, and then for the GNAC Tournament."

Having battled to an 88-86 overtime win over the Wolves in December, the Seawolves took an early lead in the rematch, surging to a 36-24 advantage on a short jumper by Pantovic. WOU sliced its halftime deficit to 47-44, however, and took a 51-50 edge early in the second half.

The game stayed a one-possession affair for more than 15 minutes before the hosts scored back-to-back baskets for a 71-65 lead with 7:28 remaining. After trading scores for several minutes, the Seawolves trailed 85-79 when WOU center John Morrill-Keeler converted inside with 1:18 to play.

UAA got a traditional three-point play from senior guard Tyrus Hosley to slice the deficit in half, followed by a steal by Tobin Karlberg at midcourt, who fed Hosley for a fastbreak layup with 49 seconds left. Pantovic drew a charging foul on WOU's Jaylyn Richardson with 20 seconds to go, and the Seawolves called timeout.

Karlberg drove the lane for a layup attempt which was deflected out of bounds to UAA with 2.5 seconds showing, and the Wolves would hang on when the sophomore guard could not cleanly control the ensuing inbounds pass as the clock expired.

Pantovic scored double figures for the 18th straight game and topped 20 points for the eighth time on 10-of-14 shooting, along with nine rebounds and two blocks. Bevens – a senior forward from Beaverton, Ore. – shot 5 of 10 from deep and grabbed four rebounds, while Hosley produced 15 points (6-10 FG, 2-5 3FG) and four assists.

Karlberg continued his hot three-point shooting with 4-of-7 accuracy for 14 points, while dishing five assists with no turnovers.

The Seawolves conclude the regular season Saturday with a 1 p.m. opening tip against Concordia-Portland at LCEF Court. That game, and all games from the GNAC Tournament (Mar. 5-7) will be streamed live at gnac.tv.