THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thur., Dec. 2 - Marcus Pavilion - Lacey, Wash. - 6:30 pm AST
Alaska Anchorage (5-0, 0-0 GNAC) at Saint Martin's (4-2, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Sat., Dec. 4 - New P.E. Building - Monmouth, Ore. - 3:15 pm AST
Alaska Anchorage at Western Oregon (1-6, 0-0 GNAC [12/2 vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: Thursday at youtube.com/channel/UC0nnHgoQKxoWpIvmsFX71kQ
                       Saturday at youtube.com/wouwolves
LIVE STATS: Thursday at smusaints.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
                      Saturday at wouwolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
GNAC OPENERS ON TAP: With a 3-2 record against Div. II foes thus far, UAA takes a break from non-conference play to get an early start on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season this week at Saint Martin's and Western Oregon.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2021-22 stats)
G—David Rowlands, 6-0, Sr. (11.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.9 apg, 3/1 AT ratio, .375 3FG, .833 FT)
G—Tobin Karlberg, 6-0, Jr. (17.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg, .441 FG, .833 FT)
F—Hunter Sweet, 6-4, Sr. (18.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, .475 FG, .419 3FG)
F—Keegan Crosby, 6-6, Jr. (4.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, .435 FG, .333 3FG)
C—Oggie Pantovic, 6-7, Sr. (13.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 bpg, .506 FG, .846 FT)
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Saint Martin's also brings a 3-2 record against D-II foes into Thursday's meeting, splitting its most recent games at Academy of Art (L, 90-78) and Cal State Monterey Bay (W, 73-66) last week ... the Saints are led by 6-8 Sr. F Brett Reed (17.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, .667 FG) and 6-3 So. PG Alex Schumacher (12.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, .381 3FG) ... preparing to host Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, Western Oregon earned its lone victory with a 77-56 decision over Sonoma State on Nov. 20, although the Wolves have lost three games by single digits or in overtime ... WOU is led by 6-6 Jr. G Cameron Cranston (16.9 ppg, 2.1 apg, 6.1 rpg, .840 FT) and 6-10 Jr. F John Morrill-Keeler (9.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, .614 FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SMU: UAA leads 33-11 overall, 12-7 in Lacey
Last: UAA 92-81 (1/30/20 at UAA) / Streak: UAA 2
Notes: UAA snapped a 4-game skid against SMU by sweeping the 2019-20 season series ... UAA's 96-57 win in the last meeting in Lacey established a program record for largest margin of victory in a GNAC game ... UAA leads 26-12 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) ... teams met twice as members of the Pac West (in 1999 and 2001) and four times between 1977-80.
vs WOU: UAA leads 23-18 overall; WOU leads 11-9 in Monmouth
Last: WOU 85-84 (2/27/20 at WOU) / Streak: WOU 1
Notes: The home team has won four straight ... five of the last six meetings have been decided by 10 points or less, including two overtime contests ... UAA leads 23-17 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) ... first and only non-GNAC meeting was a 91-81 WOU victory in Monmouth, Jan. 28, 1999, when both programs were in
the Pacific West Conference.
 
TURKEY-RIFIC TRIUMPHS: The Seawolves made it four straight wins by earning a 81-66 victory over Quincy and taking a 100-97 overtime thriller against 19th-ranked Hawaii Hilo last week in the Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic at the Alaska Airlines Center ... in the first game, Sr. F Hunter Sweet matched his career high with 30 points (8-15 FG, 6-9 3FG, 8-12 FT) and Jr. F Keegan Crosby snagged a career-high 15 rebounds to propel UAA past the visitors from Illinois ... Jr. G Tobin Karlberg added 16 points (4-6 FG, 7-7 FT), 3 assists and 2 steals, and Sr. C Oggie Pantovic had 15 points (6-12 FG) and 9 rebounds as the Seawolves won the first-ever meeting between the programs ... on Sunday, Pantovic scored eight of his 28 points (12-19 FG, 4-5 FT) in overtime and Sr. PG David Rowlands delivered 22 points (4-7 3FG, 8-8 FT) and 7 assists to help UAA avenge its Nov. 16 loss at Hilo ... Karlberg had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Sweet scored 16 points in a 45-minute effort and Pantovic added a career-high 5 blocks as UAA committed only 6 turnovers as a team ... Pantovic was named the event's Most Outstanding Player and was joined by Karlberg and  Sweet on the all-tourney team.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the early GNAC stats in scoring defense (64.7 ppg), scoring margin (+14.0),  3FGs made per game (10.4), assists (19.7) and A/T ratio (1.8) ... the Seawolves have recorded winning records in 14 of the last 15 seasons (the other was .500) and 35 of 43 seasons in program history ... UAA has produced a winning league record in 31 of their 39 years of conference membership, including 15 of 19 years in the GNAC ... the Seawolves reached 20 wins for the 17th time in program history in 2019-20.
 
'WOLF BITES: A First Team All-GNAC performer as a junior in 2019-20, Sr. F/C Oggie Pantovic has gotten off to a strong start, averaging 13.3 ppg and holding early league ranks of 15th in scoring, 3rd in rebounding (8.9 rpg), 13th in assists (2.7 apg), 3rd in blocks (1.7 bpg) and 2nd in defensive rebounding (6.4 drpg) ... the Preseason All-GNAC pick owns 10 career double-doubles and has posted double-figure scoring in 24 of his last 26 contests, earning GNAC Palyer of the Week honors for his play last week against Quincy and Hawaii Hilo ... another Preseason All-GNAC pick, Jr. G Tobin Karlberg leads the team and ranks 6th in the early GNAC stats with 17.0 ppg ... the local Grace Christian HS star has scored double figures in all seven games this year and 26 of his last 31 outings ... Karlberg's .438 career 3FG% currently sits 8th on UAA's all-time list ... Sr. F Hunter Sweet has seemingly improved the skills that made him an honorable mention All-GNAC selection as a junior at Concordia-Portland in 2019-20, scoring at least 9 points in each game, and becoming the first Seawolf since Suki Wiggs in 2016-17 to post multiple 30-point efforts in the same season (Nov. 16 at UHH, Nov. 27 vs. Quincy) ... the Portland native ranks 2nd in scoring (18.1 ppg), 6th in rebounding (6.7), 14th in assists (2.4 apg) and No. 1 in minutes (36.0 mpg) in the GNAC stats ... Sr. PG David Rowlands posted back-to-back double-doubles against Lincoln Christian and has 32 assists in the last four contests, taking over the GNAC lead with 5.9 assists per game ... the Hawaii Pacific transfer also leads the Seawolves and ranks 6th in the league with .833 FT shooting ... another Concordia-Portland transfer, So. G Caleb Larsen has displayed a sharp-shooting stroke thus far, ranking 6th in the GNAC with .483 3FG shooting, along with 8th in assists (3.1 apg) ... Jr. F Keegan Crosby has moved into the starting lineup and already surpassed his production from his sophomore season ... the Seattle native scored consecutive career highs of 7 and 10 points against Lincoln Christian, and he ranks 5th in the league with 6.9 rebounds per game, snagging at least 4 boards in six of seven outings.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 17th season (18th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (304-182) 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 Ryan Orton (7th season/8th year), Jalon McCullough (1st season) and volunteer assistant Ryan Engebretsen (1st season/2nd year).
 
2021-22 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
TOBIN KARLBERG
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
Pac West/GNAC Challenge All-Tournament Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
OGGIE PANTOVIC
GNAC Player of the Week, Nov. 22-28
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic Most Outstanding Player
Preseason All-GNAC Team
DAVID ROWLANDS
Pac West/GNAC Challenge All-Tournament Team
HUNTER SWEET
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team