THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL ...
 
10th annual GNAC Men's Basketball Championships
at Royal Brougham Pavilion – Seattle, Wash.
(times listed as Alaska Standard Time)
Thursday, March 5 (Quarterfinals)
#3 Western Oregon (19-7, 13-7) vs. #6 Alaska Fairbanks (11-17, 10-10), 11 am
#4 Northwest Nazarene (15-10, 12-8) vs. #5 Alaska Anchorage (18-13, 11-9), 1:15 pm
Friday, March 6 (Semifinals)
WOU/UAF winner vs. #2 Western Washington (18-10, 13-7), 11 am
NNU/UAA winner vs. #1 Seattle Pacific (22-6, 18-2), 1:15 pm
Saturday, March 7
Championship Game, 4 pm
 
VIDEO: gnac.tv
 
LIVE STATS: spufalcons.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2019-20 stats)
G—Tyrus Hosley, 6-1, Sr. (11.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, .453 FG, .408 3FG, .860 FT)
G—Tobin Karlberg, 6-0, So. (12.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.1 spg, .496 FG, .520 3FG, .833 FT)
G—Jack Macdonald, 6-0, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, .495 FG, .476 3FG, .889 FT)
C—Oggie Pantovic, 6-7, Jr. (15.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, .575 FG, .784 FT)
F—Niko Bevens, 6-6, Sr. (13.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, .455 FG, .451 3FG, .923 FT)
 
TITLE, NCAA BERTH ON THE LINE: After missing the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Champinonships for the first time last season, the Seawolves have returned for the ninth time in 10 editions, claiming the No. 5 seed for this year's tournament ... with Seattle Pacific entering as the lone regionally top 8-ranked squad in the field, UAA and the other five visitors will likely have to earn the title this week in order to qualify for the Mar. 13-16 NCAA West Regional Championships.
 
SCOUTING REPORTS: Fourth-seeded Northwest Nazarene has split its last eight contests, following a 7-game winning streak from Jan. 9-Feb. 1 ... from Nampa, Idaho, the Nighthawks are led by Ezekiel Alley (16.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 spg, .492 FG, .423 3FG, .770 FT) and Jayden Bezzant (14.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, .476 FG, .654 FT) ... if the Seawolves defeat NNU, they will face top-seeded and host Seattle Pacific ... ranked No. 23 in last week's D2SIDA top 25 poll, the Falcons suffered their lone GNAC losses this year at UAF (83-77) and at WWU (73-68) ... SPU is led by a trio of double-figure scorers who have started every game in Divant'e Moffitt (16.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, .516 FG, .373 FT, .817 FT), Harry Cavell (13.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, .498 FG, .380 3FG, .844 FT) and Shaw Anderson (12.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .554 FG, .574 3FG, .804 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs. NNU: UAA leads 24-15
Last: UAA 90-89, ot (2/13/20 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: This will mark the teams' first neutral-court and postseason meeting ... teams have split the last four season series, with each defending its home court ... the last 16 meetings have been decided by 13 points or less, including three overtime contests ... UAA leads 23-15 in GNAC regular-season meetings ... first and only meeting as non-GNAC members was a 93-66 UAA home win, Feb. 3, 2001, when both teams were in the Pac West Conference.
 
vs. SPU: SPU leads 41-39 overall, 26-11 in Seattle
Last: SPU 79-73 (2/1/20 at UAA)
Streak: SPU 5
Notes: The road team has won 10 of the last 14 meetings ... teams have met twice in the GNAC Tournament, with SPU winning 64-51 in the 2018 quarterfinals in Anchorage, and UAA winning 72-67 in the 2011 semifinals in Anchorage ... eight of the last 12 games have been decided by six points or fewer, including two OT contests ... 21 of the last 29 games have been decided by 11 points or fewer … SPU leads 25-13 in GNAC regular-season meetings, with six games going to OT … SPU is UAA's 3rd-most common opponent (80 meetings) ... series started in UAA's first year of Div. II competition in 1977-78.
 
UAA AT GNACs: The Seawolves are 3-8 all-time at the GNAC Championships … UAA was runner-up the first two tourneys, losing to Central Washington in 2011 and MSU Billings in 2012 … the Seawolves are 2-5 in the quarterfi nals, trying to snap a 5-game losing skid in that round ... UAA is 2-1 in the semifinals, beating Seattle Pacific in 2011 and CWU in 2012, and losing in the 2017 semifinals to Western Oregon in a 91-84, triple-OT contest that equaled the longest game in program history.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA's 12-4 home record marked its second-most wins and second-best percentage in six years at the Alaska Airlines Center, trailing only the 16-0 mark from 2016-17 ... after going 14-14 last year, the Seawolves have clinched their 14th winning record in the last 15 seasons and their 35th in 43 years of program history ... UAA also produced a winning league record for the 31st time in 39 years of conference memebership, including 15 of 19 years in the GNAC ... the Seawolves are aiming for the 17th 20-win season in program history ... UAA leads the GNAC in assists per game (18.0), assist/turnover ratio (1.6), 3FG% (.411) and 3FGs per game (12.2), while ranking second in turnover margin (+1.61) and third in FT% (.779) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves are 6th in 3FGs per game, 7th in A/T ratio, 13th in assists per game, 11th in 3FG%, 27th in FT% and 32nd in fewest turnovers per game (11.5) ... the 12.2 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 MSUB and 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: With nine double-doubles – including at least 21 points and 12 rebounds in four straight outings – Jr. C Oggie Pantovic was named GNAC Player of the Week for Feb. 10-16 and is a candidate for postseason honors ... the Kovin, Serbia, native ranks 3rd in the overall GNAC stats in rebounding (7.8 rpg), 4th in FG% (.575) and 10th in scoring (15.1 ppg), posting double figures in his last 19 contests ... in GNAC-only games, Pantovic's numbers were even more impressive at 17.4 ppg (6th) and 8.7 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 notably balanced this season, getting at least 6.0 points per game from seven players and at least 2.0 rebounds per game from eight players, with only one player averaging more than 26.2 minutes ... Sr. F Niko Bevens leads the GNAC and ranks 15th nationally with 3.5 3FGs  per game, along with league ranks of 21st in scoring (13.1 ppg) and 7th in 3FG% (.451, 20th nationally) ... the Beaverton, Ore., native has scored double figures in 22 of the last 27 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, and his 107 treys have put him within reach of the program single-season record (113, Kyle Fossman, 2013-14) ... with 189 treys in just 59 games, Bevens is 6th on UAA's career list, while his current streak of 38 games with a trey 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 12.9 ppg ... boosted by 43-of-74 3FG shooting over the last 12 games and now with the requisite 2.5 makes per game, he ranks No. 2 in all of NCAA Div. II with his .520 3FG% ... the former local Grace Christian HS star has tallied double figures in 22 games thus far, with four of his five 20-plus efforts coming since Jan. 30 ... Karlberg holds GNAC ranks of 2nd in 3FG% (.520), 6th in 3FGs per game (2.5), 6th in A/T ratio (2.7) and 19th in FG% (.496), and his .476 career 3FG% currently stands No. 1 program history, just ahead of Kemmy Burgess (.474, 2003-06) ... 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 ... now a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District performer with a 3.73 GPA in accounting, he is averaging 9.0 points and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting .495 from the field, .476 from deep and .889 at the FT stripe ... in the GNAC stats, Macdonald ranks 5th in 3FG%, 7th in A/T ratio (2.3) and 14th in assists (2.6 apg), while on UAA's career lists he is top 15 in both 3FG% (.418) and FT% (.830) ... 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 11.8 ppg and holds GNAC top-20 ranks in assists (9th, 3.3 apg), A/T ratio (4th, 2.8), 3FGs per game (10th, 2.1) and 3FG% (14th, .408), while his 3.8 rpg are 4th on the team ... with two double-digit assist games in the last six, Hosley has also risen to 19th nationally in A/T ratio ...  from State College of Florida, Osuigwe is 3rd in the GNAC with 4.0 assists per game and 8th with a 2.0 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 4.4 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 1.2 swipes per game ... Hale, from Eastern Arizona, has delivered 67 assists and committed just 21 turnovers in 493 minutes for the second-best A/T ratio (3.2) in the GNAC.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 16th year at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (297-179) has now led the Seawolves to 15 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
CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Team (repeat)
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