FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Sawyer Storms delivered 23 points and Tyson Gilbert scored 11 of his 16 points after halftime Friday to lift the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team to an 81-77 victory over Westminster in the opening game of the Mt. McKinley North Star Bank Invitational at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (3-3) also got nine points on near-perfect shooting from senior guard AJ Garrity as they took advantage of a 28-11 edge in points off turnovers.

The Griffins (0-4) were led by 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 11 rebounds from forward Trey Farrer, but the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference club could not capitalize on a 39-20 rebounding advantage.

"It was a good effort from our guys to step up at the end and make some plays," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne. "We've had a lot of sickness going through the team, and we had some bench guys give us good minutes. Luke Devine (3 points, 2 rebounds, +7 plus/minus) and Evan Hoosier (3 points, 2 assists) made a lot of good plays, especially."

Coming off a 10-day break after three narrow losses in Hawaii, the Seawolves forged a 38-34 halftime lead behind the play of Storms. The Chaminade transfer shot 5 of 5 from the field and 4 of 4 on the free throws in the opening 20 minutes as he finished the day one point shy of his collegiate career scoring high.

The Griffins fought back to take a 59-57 lead midway through the second half, but UAA responded with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes – getting four points and two steals from Garrity and a pair of three-pointers from Gilbert in the surge.

Leading 69-66 with 3:44 to play, Da'Zhon Wyche stifled a Westminster fast break with a steal that led to two free throws by Garrity, and Gilbert nailed his fourth three-pointer to go up 74-66 at the 2-minute mark.

The Griffins cut it 76-73 before Storms and Wyche combined to shoot 5 of 6 at the free-throw line to end it.

A 6-7 forward, Storms finished 8 of 12 from the field and 6 of 6 at the foul stripe, while Gilbert, a 6-2 guard, shot 6 of 11 overall and 4 of 9 from long range.

Garrity finished with an efficient line, shooting 2 of 2 (1-1 3FG) from the field and 4 of 5 on free throws, along with two rebounds, three steals, one assist and no turnovers in 18 minutes.

Wyche had seven points, four assists, three steals and just one turnover as UAA committed just 11 giveaways to Westminster's 25.

Sophomore guard Lachan Viney gave UAA a boost with all eight of his points in the first half – plus three steals and three assists – and junior wing Jaron Williams helped spark the second-half run with six points, three rebounds and a timely steal.

The Seawolves return to action Saturday at the Patty Center for a noon tip against Texas A&M International.