THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Fri., Nov. 24 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Adams State (2-2) at Alaska Anchorage (6-0)
&
Sat., Nov. 25 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Adams State 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. (7.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 4.3/1 A/T)
G—Tyson Gilbert, 6-2, Sr. (15.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 spg, .508 FG, .474 3FG, .875 FT)
G—Dillon Barrientos, 6-1, Jr. (8.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.0 spg)
F—Sawyer Storms, 6-7, Jr. (9.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.0 spg, .543 FG, .625 3FG)
C—Lyman Simmons, 6-10, Fr. (5.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .667 FG, 8-10 FT)
 
ADAMS IN TOWN: The Seawolves get back to NCAA Div. II competition for the remainder of their schedule, starting this week with a pair of games against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent Adams State this weekend (Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm) at the Alaska Airlines Center ... with the teams coming from bordering regions (UAA from the West and Adams State from the South Central), both games will be considered 'in-region counters' when it comes to playoff consideration in March.
 
GRIZZLY ENCOUNTER: Adams State, from Alamosa, Colo., comes north for its first true road games of the season, coming off home setbacks against Eastern New Mexico (92-82) and Western New Mexico (93-78) last week ... the Grizzlies are led by 5-9 Sr. G Destan Williams (17.5 ppg, 1.5 apg, .575 FG, .911 FT) and 6-4 Sr. G Austin Fadal (13.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, .526 FG).
 
THE SERIES vs ASU: UAA leads 4-0
Last: UAA 88-50 (12/22/99 at UAA)
Notes: UAA has won all four meetings by double figures ... all four games were played at UAA's former gym, playing back-to-backs in Dec. 1993 and Dec. 1999.
 
BOBCATS TAMED: The Seawolves remained perfect with a pair of home wins over NAIA foe UC Merced last week at the Alaska Airlines Center, winning 83-32 on Friday and 62-49 on Saturday ... in the first game, Sr. G Dathan Satchell had 16 points and Fr. F Sloan Lentfer had 7 points and 10 rebounds in his first starting assignment as UAA outshot the Bobcats .552 to .256 ... UAA's 39-9 halftime lead marked the fewest points allowed in either half of a Seawolf home game, while the 32 points were the fourth-fewest allowed by a UAA team ... in the rematch, Sr. F Sawyer Storms had 14 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3FG), 3 assists and 2 blocks to help fend off a Merced challenge ... Jr. PG Dillion Barrientos added 13 points, while Sr. F Jaron Williams provided a lift off the bench with 7 points, 4 assists and a career-high-tying 7 rebounds.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA's 6-0 start is now the best in program history, although many season-opening streaks were stopped by D-I opponents in the Great Alaska Shootout over the years ... with at least three games in the books for all 10 GNAC teams, the Seawolves rank in the top half of the league in 16 of 21 statistical categories, including first in scoring defense (54.2), scoring margin (+22.7), 3FG% defense (.224), assists  per game (21.0), assist/turnover ratio (+1.8), turnover margin (+4.3) and 3FG made per game (10.2) ... UAA's .279 (12-43) opponent field-goal percentage against Hawaii Pacific 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. 5 in the early GNAC stats with 15.7 ppg, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert started the season with double figures in the first five 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, Gilbert is also 3rd in the GNAC with an .875 FT%, 8th with 1.5 steals per game, 1st in 3FGs per game (3.0) and 13th in 3FG% (.474) ... 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 9.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.2 apg, while shooting .543 FG and a GNAC-best .625 (10 of 16) on 3FGs ... 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.
 
'WOLF BITES: The Seawolves have shown impressive depth thus far, getting at least 10 minutes per game from 11 of their 12 active players ... with the recent news that Jr. F Bishop Tosi will be out for an extended period with a hand injury, the Seawolves will rely more on the freshman post tandem of Lyman Simmons and Sloan Lentfer, who are combining to average 9.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg ... Simmons leads the Seawolves with a .667 (12-18) FG shooting and has knocked down 8 of 10 FTs, while Lentfer is coming off his first double-digit rebound performance last week against UC Merced ... Jr. G Dillon Barrientos ranks 2nd in the early GNAC stats with 4.3 assists per game and is 10th with a 4.3 A/T ratio ... Sr. G Dathan Satchell ranks 10th in the GNAC with 1.8 3FGs made per game.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 19th season (20th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (333-203) 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