THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
at Hoops in Hawaii Classic
Honolulu, Hawaii (The Shark Tank) – all times listed as AST
Sun., Dec. 17, 4:30 pm: Texas-Tyler (1-7) vs Alaska Anchorage (8-2)
Mon., Dec. 18, 4:30 pm: #9 Cal St. San Bernardino (7-1) vs Alaska Anchorage
Tue., Dec. 19, 7 pm: Alaska Anchorage at Hawaii Pacific (5-2)
 
LIVE VIDEO: passthaballlive.com/events (pay-per-view)
LIVE STATS: hpusharks.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Dathan Satchell, 6-3, Sr. (7.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.9 A/T)
G—Tyson Gilbert, 6-2, Sr. (14.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.5 spg, .387 3FG, .844 FT)
G—Dillon Barrientos, 6-1, Jr. (9.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 2.8 A/T)
F—Sawyer Storms, 6-7, Sr. (11.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.6 spg, .536 FG, .480 3FG)
C—Sloan Lentfer, 6-7, Fr. (4.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .475 FG)
 
NO BREEZE IN THE ISLANDS: The Seawolves will play three games in three days to conclude their non-conference slate this week, facing Texas-Tyler and West Region foes Cal State San Bernardino and Hawaii Pacific at the Hoops In Hawaii Classic in Honolulu ... the Monday and Tuesday contests are both NCAA Div. II West Region affairs.
 
KNOW THE FOES: Texas-Tyler takes a five-game losing skid to Honolulu, although three of those losses have come by one point or in overtime ... the Patriots, from the Lone Star Conference, are led by Bryce Roberts (15.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .400 3FG) and Alec Zambie (9.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, .474 3FG) ... defending West Region champion and 2023 NCAA semifinalist Cal State San Bernardino heads into a Sunday matchup with Hawaii Pacific with a No. 9 national ranking ... the Coyotes suffered their first loss to California Collegiate Athletic Association rival Cal State East Bay (74-71) on Dec. 7 ... CSUSB is led by Sedrick Altman (13.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg) and Chris Mitchell (13.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, .532 FG) ... Hawaii Pacific has rebounded from season-opening losses to UAF and UAA with a five-game win streak, including road wins over GNAC opponents Western Washington (83-67) and Simon Fraser (67-64) ... the Sharks are led by Melo Sanchez (16.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, .806 FT) and Diggy Winbush (11.9 ppg, 2.6 apg, .563 3FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs UTT & CSUSB: First meetings
vs HPU: UAA leads 14-7 overall, 7-6 in Honolulu
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 65-50 (11/11/23 at Fairbanks)
Notes: This is the eighth straight non-pandemic season that the teams have met ... HPU won 74-73 in Honolulu last season ... teams played four times as Pacific West Conference foes between 1998-2001 ... series started Feb. 21, 1980.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Seawolves are trying to shake off their first losses of the season, having dropped their Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers at MSU Billings and Seattle Pacific two weeks ago ... in the first game on Nov. 30, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert had 12 points and 6 rebounds, but the Yellowjackets won the FG% (.457 to .373) and rebounding (39-31) battles to earn the 66-59 victory ... Sr. F Sawyer Storms had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, while Sr. F Jaron Williams added 8 points (4-6 FG), 2 assists and no turnovers ... two days later, Jr. G Dillon Barrientos delivered 18 points (6-11 FG, 5-6 FT) and 3 assists, but the Falcons shot .833 (20-24) from 2-point range to eke out an 80-75 decision ... Storms finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and Williams had 9 points (5-6 FT) and 6 rebounds off the bench as UAA fell despite committing just 5 turnovers (t-9th on program single-game list).
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves rank among the top 25 in six NCAA Div. II national stats categories – 3rd in scoring defense (59.0 ppg), 8th in 3FG% defense (.266), 12th in A/T ratio (1.59), 13th in assists (18.9 apg), 17th in scoring margin (+15.4) and 25th in turnover margin (+4.2) ... UAA paces the GNAC in scoring defense, assists, TO margin, A/T ratio and rebounds allowed per game (29.8), and is among the top half of the league in 15 of 21 statistical categories ... the Seawolves' 8-0 start was the best in program history, although many season-opening streaks were stopped by D-I opponents in the Great Alaska Shootout over the years ... UAA's .279 (12-43) opponent FG% 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 8th in the GNAC stats with 14.5 ppg, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert has started his final season with double figures in nine of the first 10 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 5th in the GNAC in FT% (.885), 7th in steals (1.5 spg) and 2nd in 3FGs per game (2.4), while leading the league with a 5.8 A/T ratio ... 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 is again displaying his all-around skills with league ranks of 8th in assists (3.2 apg), 8th in rebounding (6.6 rpg), 20th in scoring (11.6 ppg), 3rd in 3FG% (.480), 14th in FG% (.536) and 5th in steals (1.6 spg) ... UAA's second-leading scorer among active players, Storms has shot better than 50 percent in seven of 10 contests, and snagged at least four rebounds in every game (7.5 rpg over last four games) ... the Chaminade transfer dished 8 assists without a turnover to aid the 77-72 win over his former squad, and posted a season-high 17 points in the 83-67 win over Adams State.
 
'WOLF BITES: UAA has shown impressive depth thus far, getting at least 10 minutes per game from 10 of their 12 active players ... Jr. G Dillon Barrientos ranks 3rd in the GNAC with 3.9 assists per game, along with 6th in A/T ratio (2.8) and 16th in steals (1.0 spg) ... a transfer from College of the Canyons (Calif.), Barrientos has begun his NCAA career with four double-figure scoring efforts in the first 10 games, and four-plus assists in four contests ... Sr. F Jaron Williams scored double figures in back-to-back games for the second time in his Seawolf career, shooting 5 of 7 in both contests against Adams State, and followed with 17 total points on 6-of-11 accuracy in the road losses at MSUB and SPU ... the former East Anchorage HS star is among seven Seawolves currently shooting plus-.500 FG (.517), and is .824 (14-17) at the FT line.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 19th season (20th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (335-205) 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