THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Fri., Nov. 17 – 6 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
UC Merced (1-1) at Alaska Anchorage (4-0)
&
Sst., Nov. 18 – 2 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
UC Merced at Alaska Anchorage
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
LIVE VIDEO: youtube.com/UAASeawolves
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Dathan Satchell, 6-3, Sr. (5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 3.3/1 A/T)
G—Tyson Gilbert, 6-2, Sr. (19.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.5 spg, .581 FG, .600 3FG, .923 FT)
G—Dillon Barrientos, 6-1, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.3 spg)
F—Sawyer Storms, 6-7, Jr. (8.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.3 spg, .500 FG, 5-8 3FG)
C—Lyman Simmonsi, 6-10, Fr. (6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .692 FG, 6-8 FT)
 
HOMESTAND BEGINS: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team returns to the Alaska Airlines Center this week for non-conference games against NAIA foe UC Merced, tipping at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday ... the Seawolves and the Bobcats will be meeting for the first times.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: UC Merced comes north for the first time after splitting its first counting games, beating Stanton University 78-47 and falling 81-79 in double OT at home against Menlo ... the Bobcats play in the CalPac Conference, along with opening opponent, Cal Maritime.
 
UP TO THE CHALLENGE: The Seawolves stayed perfect on the season with crucial victories over fellow NCAA Div. II West Region foes Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific last week at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge in Fairbanks ... in the first game, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert delivered a career-high 27 points (8-14 FG, 5-8 3FG, 6-6 FT) and Jr. F Bishop Tosi had 24 points (8-13 FG, 8-12 FT) in his first game against NCAA D-II competition as the Seawolves fended off a late charge by the Silverswords, 77-72 ... Sr. F Sawyer Storms had 8 assists and no turnovers, and So. G Hasaan Herrington added 9 points (4-8 FG), 4 rebounds and a key block in the final minute to help UAA snap a 6-game skid against its most common non-conference rival .... on Saturday, Gilbert collected 16 points (5-9 FG, 3-3 3FG) and a team-high 6 rebounds as UAA led by double figures most of the way in a 65-60 win over HPU ... starting for an injured Tosi, Fr. C Lyman Simmons tallied 9 points (3-5 FG), 4 rebounds and a block, while fellow rookie post Sloan Lentfer had 8 points (4-7 FG) off the bench ... Storms (8 pts, 2-2 3FG) helped the Seawolves shoot .556 (10-18) from long range, while the defense held the Sharks to .279 (12-43) shooting.
 
TEAM NOTES: With at least two games in the books for all 10 GNAC teams, the Seawolves rank in the top half of the league in 20 of 21 statistical categories, including first in scoring defense (61.0), scoring margin (+18.0), rebounds allowed per game (30.0), assists  per game (20.0), assist/turnover ratio (+1.6) and defensive rebound percentage (.770) ... UAA's .279 (12-43) opponent field-goal percentage against HPU last week was the best against a fellow D-II team since holding Simon Fraser to .273 (15-55) on Jan. 5, 2017 ... the Seawolves are aiming for the program's 37th winning record in 46 seasons of NCAA Div. II existence, and 33rd winning conference record in 42 years in belonging to a league.
 
TYSON TOUGH: The Seawolves' top scorer and No. 2 in the early GNAC stats with 19.3 ppg, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert has started the season with double figures in all four games, including a career-high 27 points (8-14 FG, 5-8 3FG, 6-6 FT) to power the 77-72 win over Chaminade ... the MVP of the GNAC/PacWest Challenge last week, Gilbert is also 4th in the GNAC with a .923 FT%, 7th with 1.5 steals per game, and is shooting a blazing .600 (12-20) from 3FG range ... after two seasons on the sidelines due to an Achilles' injury and heart surgery and Covid, the CSU Pueblo transfer finished as UAA's leading scorer (10.4 ppg) in his 2022-23 comeback campaign, earning honorable mention All-GNAC recognition.
 
STORMS WARNING: Another returning honorable mention All-GNAC performer, Sr. F Sawyer Storms has begun displaying his all-around skills again this year, averaging 8.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.3 apg and 1.3 spg, while shooting 10-20 FG, 5-8 3FG and posting a 3.3/1 A/T ratio ... the former Chaminade transfer dished 8 assist without a turnover to aid the 77-72 win over his former squad, and posted 8 points (2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT) in the win over Hawaii Pacific last week.
 
SATCHELL FULL OF THREES: Sr. G Dathan Satchell is UAA's lone selection on the 2023-24 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team after flashing major potential in the second half of last season ... the Las Positas (Calif.) College transfer tallied at least 9 points in 13 of his 21 appearances, including a career-high 23 points at league champ Saint Martin's ... Satchell ranked 3rd in the GNAC with 2.3 3FGs per game and 17th in 3FG% (.396), posting multiple treys in 17 of 23 appearances.
 
LOCAL LEGENDS: The Seawolves are getting great production from their homegrown talent thus far, with Jr. F Bishop Tosi (Bartlett HS), Sr. F Jaron Williams (East HS), So. G Hasaan Herrington (East HS) and Fr. F Sloan Lentfer all making big contributions to the 4-0 start ... Tosi was an all-tourney selection last week at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge despite missing the second game with a hand injury ... the Bellevue College transfer posted 24 points (8-13 FG, 8-12 FT) and 14 rebounds to aid the 77-72 win over Chaminade, and he currently ranks 5th in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and 14th in scoring (13.0 ppg) in the early GNAC stats ... after averaging 6.5 ppg as a junior, Williams is at the exact same scoring pace this year, and displaying the defensive skills that ranked him among the GNAC's steals leaders in 2022-23 ... Williams is also 8 of 8 at the foul stripe to lead the league ... Herrington has made an impact since transferring from fellow D-II program UT Tyler, coming off the bench with 6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 1.5 apg, while Lentfer stepped up Saturday to offset the loss of Tosi with 8 points (4-7 FG) and 2 rebounds, logging double-digit minutes (16) for the first time as a collegian.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 19th season (20th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (331-203) has led the Seawolves to .500-plus records in 15 of the 16 seasons, 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 coach in any sport to reach 300 career victories when the Seawolves beat Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 13, 2021 … 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 by associate head coach Ryan Orton (9th season/10th year) and volunteer assistant Ryan Engebretsen (3rd season/4th year).
 
2023-24 Seawolf Individual Honors
TYSON GILBERT
GNAC/PacWest Challenge MVP
GNAC Player of the Week, Oct. 30-Nov. 5
DATHAN SATCHELL
Preseason All-GNAC Team
BISHOP TOSI
GNAC/Pac West Challenge All-Tournament Team