ANCHORAGE (Nov. 3) – Newcomer Dillon Barrientos scored 20 points and senior Tyson Gilbert delivered 12 points and five assists Friday to help the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team to an 86-69 victory over Cal Maritime in its season opener at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Boosted by the second-largest basketball crowd in the arena's 10-year history – 3,200 – the Seawolves led from start to finish, getting scoring from all 13 of their players. Friday's game was the inaugural Slam Dunk for Education event for UAA, with more than 2,600 Anchorage School District fifth-graders in attendance.

The Keelhaulers (0-2) were led by 21 points and eight rebounds from forward Everett Perrot, but the NAIA squad was outshot .516 to .460 and outrebounded 37-28.

"I thought we looked OK for our first game with a new group," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, who began his 19th season and 20th year overall at the helm. "We shot it well, and we were able to get our new players some important playing time and confidence."

A transfer from College of the Canyons (Calif.), Barrientos opened his NCAA career with a pair of three-pointers during an 8-0 run to start the game. The 6-1 point guard scored again with 5:38 left to increase the lead to 33-19, but the Keelhaulers would answer with an 8-0 run of their own.

UAA withstood the visitors' charge, however, and pushed its lead back to 45-31 by halftime.

Perrot hit a three-pointer midway through the second half to get this team within 66-55, but the Keelhaulers would go without a field goal for the next five minutes as UAA built a 79-56 lead at the 4:44 mark.

Barrientos finished 7 of 13 from the floor, 4 of 9 on three-pointers and dished four assists, while senior guard Dathan Satchell – UAA's representative on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team – stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six assists, a career-high seven rebounds, and no turnovers.

Gilbert also went without a turnover, along with a pair of steals.

Senior forward Jaron Williams collected eight points (2-3 FG, 4-4 FT), senior forward Sawyer Storms had seven points and six rebounds, and freshman center Lyman Simmons debuted with six points (3-4 FG), five rebounds and a block.

The Seawolves face the Keelhaulers again at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.