THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Fri., Nov. 10 – 4:45 pm AST – Patty Center – Fairbanks, Alaska
Chaminade (0-0) vs Alaska Anchorage (2-0)
&
Sat., Nov. 11 – 3 pm AST – Patty Center – Fairbanks, Alaska
Hawaii Pacific (0-0 [Fri. vs UAF]) vs Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: youtube.com/@TheAlaskaNanooks
 
LIVE STATS: AlaskaNanooks.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Dathan Satchell, 6-3, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 0.5 TO/gm)
G—Tyson Gilbert, 6-2, Sr. (17.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.0 spg, .600 FG, 7-14 3FG)
G—Dillon Barrientos, 6-1, Jr. (11.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1.0 spg)
F—Sawyer Storms, 6-7, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg, .636 FG, 3-4 3FG)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, .545 FG, 3-3 FT)
 
CRITICAL EARLY SEASON TESTS UP NORTH: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team begins the NCAA Div. II portion of its schedule this week with critical showdowns against West Region rivals Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific this week at the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in Fairbanks ... this week's games will be key in determining future power rankings for NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships qualification in March.
 
THE SERIES...
vs Chaminade: UAA leads 19-17 overall; tied 1-1 neutral
Streak: CU 6
Last: CU 82-77 (11/11/22 at HPU)
Notes: CU is UAA's most common non-conference opponent with 36 all-time meetings ... this will mark the eighth straight non-pandemic season that the teams will meet (all in early November) ... UAA's last win came by a 92-90 score, Nov. 13, 2015 in Fairbanks ... CU's current 6-game winning streak is the longest in series history ... series started 1977-78.
 
vs HPU: UAA leads 13-7 overall, 2-0 neutral
Streak: HPU 1
Last: HPU 74-73 (11/12/22 at HPU)
Notes: This will mark the eighth straight non-pandemic season that the teams will meet (all in early November) ... teams played four times as Pacific West Conference foes between 1998-2001 ... series started Feb. 21, 1980.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Chaminade is coming off a 14-15 overall record and 6th-place finish in the Pacific West Conference ... picked for 6th again in the preseason coaches' poll, the Silverswords are led by Second Team All-PacWest selection Issac Amaral-Artharee (16.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg) and reigning PacWest Freshman of the Year Ross Reaves (15.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg) ... first-year Hawaii Pacific coach Jesse Nakanishi has seven returnees back from a squad that went 10-18 overall and 6-14 (t-8th) in the PacWest last year ... the Sharks are led by 6-4 So. G Melo Sanchez (14.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .468 3FG).
 
2023-24 SEASON PREVIEW: Coming off their program's first losing record in 17 years, the 2023-24 version of the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team is hungry to get back to its winning ways, and loaded with the talent to get there ... three starters and three key bench contributors return from last year's team that finished 13-14 overall, suffering 10 of those setbacks by six points for fewer ... a handful of seniors will lead the way, including returning honorable mention All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference performers Tyson Gilbert and Sawyer Storms, and Preseason All-GNAC pick Dathan Satchell ... the rest of the squad is comprised of one returning redshirt (So. G/F Jack Chlumak), four transfers and three true freshmen.
 
SUCCESSFUL START: The Seawolves led from wire to wire in a pair of wins over NAIA foe Cal Maritime to open the season last week at the Alaska Airlines Center ... on Friday, Jr. PG Dillon Barrientos debuted with 20 points (7-13 FG, 4-9 3FG) and 4 assists to pace an 86-69 victory ... Sr. G Tyson Gilbert had 12 points (4-8 FG, 3-6 3FG), 5 assists and no turnovers on his way to GNAC Player of the Week honors, while Sr. G Dathan Satchell matched and set career highs with 6 assists (0 TO) and 7 rebounds ... UAA dominated the rematch, 88-53, behind a career-high-tying 22 points (8-12 FG, 4-8 3FG) from Gilbert and Sr. F Sawyer Storms's first career double-double (14 pts/11 rebs) ... Jr. F Bishop Tosi (13 pts, 5-8 FG, 3-3 FT, 6 rebs) scored double figures for the first time as a Seawolf, and Satchell added 10 points.
 
TEAM NOTES: The 2022-23 Seawolves ranked among the top 15 in five NCAA Div. II national stats categories, finishing 2nd in both turnover margin (+8.6) and turnovers forced per game (20.0), 7th in steals per game (9.9), 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 14th in assists per game (17.1) ... UAA was also top 50 in 3FGs/gm (29th, 9.6), fewest turnovers per game (35th, 11.4) and scoring margin (47th,  +7.3) ... UAA led the GNAC stats in turnover margin and steals, while ranking 2nd in assists, A/T ratio and scoring margin ... at 13-14, last year's club barely missed extending the program's streak of 17 straight .500-plus records ... last year marked just the ninth losing conference record in 41 years of league play for a Seawolf team and just the fifth time in 21 years of the GNAC's existence ... of UAA's 14 losses, only one came by double figures ... the Seawolves were 1-10 in games decided by five points or less, including four overtime setbacks.
 
MEN OF HONOR: The Seawolves return a pair of seniors who are coming off honorable mention All-GNAC performances in their debut seasons in Green & Gold ... after two seasons on the sidelines due to an Achilles' injury and heart surgery, Tyson Gilbert finished as UAA's leading scorer (10.4 ppg), along with GNAC top-20 ranks in 3FGs per game (8th, 1.9), steals (14th, 1.2 spg) and A/T ratio (11th, 1.8) ... the Colorado State-Pueblo transfer hit his stride after re-entering the starting lineup Jan. 12, averaging 13.4 ppg the rest of the year ... Gilbert's top games included 18 points in both games against WWU, 13 points in the home win over CWU and 12 points in the home win over SFU ... meanwhile, Sawyer Storms was been a consistent force after transferring from regional rival Chaminade, producing double-figure scoring 14 times, including 23 points in the win over Westminster, 21 points (6-6 FG, 8-9 FT) in the win at Western Washington, and 13 points in each win over Central Washington ... the Idaho native was UAA's second-leading scorer at 10.0 ppg, along with GNAC ranks of 8th in steals (1.4 spg), 6th in FG% (.554), 9th in blocks (0.9 bpg) and 9th in assists (3.0 apg).
 
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.
 
SOLID SENIORS: The Seawolves return a load of key experience off the bench in seniors Jaron Williams and Caleb Larsen ... an East Anchorage HS product, Williams appeared in every game last year after playing three years at Spokane CC, posting GNAC ranks of 6th in steals (1.4 spg) and 4th in A/T ratio (2.3) ... a former Concordia-Portland transfer, Larsen is back for his fourth year in Green & Gold (including the Covid non-season) and sixth year of college basketball ... the Oregon native posted 4.6 ppg in 14.9 minutes per game as a junior, ranking 11th in the GNAC with a .408 3FG%.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 19th season (20th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (329-203) 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 Player of the Week, Oct. 30-Nov. 5
DATHAN SATCHELL
Preseason All-GNAC Team